F 391 -.SEEKERS' SERIES, No. 2. 

.T38 

Copy 1 




A STRAWBERRY FIELD. 



Cexas 
Coast 
Country 



«^* ^* e^* 

Hlso briefly describing 
the resources of 
Counties along the 
6ulf, Colorado <St Santa fe 
Rail>vay line 

I 20th Thousand 



Issued by the passenger Department 
6anta fz Route 

October, 1899. 



Corbitt & Butterfield Co. 
Railway Printers, 

Chicago. 



Fuh\ 



Somewhat personal 

Do you live in a climate where the winters 
are long and severe? In Texas there is 
practically no winter; one can comfortably 
work outdoors the year round. 

Is your locality subject to devastating drouths? 
In the Coast Country of Texas the average rainfall 
is fifty inches a year, well distributed through the 
growing season; and no irrigation is required. 

Is the soil of your farm worn out? Texas soil rarely 
requires fertilizers; it is deep and rich and permanent. 

Does it require all you earn for living expenses? The 
cost is 40% less to build a house in Texas than in the 
North, So% less for clothing, and 80^ less for fuel. 

Are you now restricted to one main crop a year ? 
Along the Gulf Coast of Texas a man can raise two 
or three crops of vegetables and alfalfa per annum, 
and more than one crop of some other staples; a 
great diversity is also possible. 

Are you interested in horticulture ? Texas fruit 
lands annually pay $200 to $500 net per acre. The 
fruit season begins early and lasts to a late date. 

Is your northern farm worth $100 an acre, with 
a high tax rate and low prices for products ? Why 
not try the $10 an acre lands in the southern part of 
Texas, where taxes are low and markets excellent ? 

This pamphlet is intended for the man desirous of 
more information on the important subject of where 
to go for a new home. The descriptions are limited 
to the southern portion of Texas, along the Gulf 



Coast, with some information about other sections on 
the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. Farmers, 
fruit-raisers, land-owners and real estate ag-ents are 
permitted to speak for themselves. The unsigned arti- 
cles have been compiled from the most reliable sources. 

Here is a country which it is believed offers ample 
rewards for well-directed toil; where the homeseeker 
may find cheap land, abundant crops, good markets, 
a friendly climate and hospitable neighbors. 

If, after reading what is herein contained, you are 
sufficiently interested to wish to investigate further 
by taking a trip to Texas and seeing for yourself, 
remember that the Santa Fe Route is the direct line 
from Chicago, Kansas City, Denver and other north- 
ern and eastern points to the heart of the Coast 
Country. For full particulars respecting train serv- 
ice, ticket rates, etc. , confer with any ticket agent 
or address the undersigned. 

W. J. BLACK, General Passenger Agent, 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry., 
ToPEKA, Kansas. 

C. A. HIGGINS, Ass't Gen'l Passenger Agent, 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry., 
Chicago. 

W. S. KEENAN, General Passenger Agent, 
Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Ry. , 
Galveston, Texas. 



facts Hbout Texas 

• • • 

r^istOfiCill '^^^ fascinating story of Texas' 
early life began, so far as white 
occupation is concerned, with La Salle's visit to 
Matagorda Bay in 1685. Later, in 1692, European 
settlements were made at San Antonio, and in 1717 
at Nacogdoches. Following the rout of the Mexi- 
cans at the battle of San Jacinto in 1836 a republic 
was declared, and in 1845 Texas came into the 
Union. Here on the Mexican border has been suc- 
cessfully evolved, by strenuous effort from diverse 
elements, a united and prosperous people noted for 
chivalric courtesy, civic pride and material greatness. 

Its I^^tlft Texas takes first prize in regard to 
area, production of cotton, number 
of sheep, cattle and horses raised; amount of funds 
set apart for free public schools and colleges, and 
the size and finish of the beautiful capitol building 
at Austin. It ranks fourth in wealth, about third 
in railroad mileage, and fifth in population. 

H Comparison with only six per cent of 
■^ Its land cultivated, i exas 

produces more rice than South Carolina, more sugar 
and sorghum than Louisiana, and more wheat than 
the Dakotas. It has more prairie land than Kansas, 
a larger coal area than Pennsylvania, and greater 
oak forests than West Virginia; it raises more cotton 
than Mississippi; can produce more iron ore than 
Alabama, and excels New Hampshire in granite. 

The State debt is less than $4,000,000. Taxable 
valuation is about $900,000,000. Legal rate of 
interest is 6 per cent, but 10 per cent may be charged. 
These figures compare favorably with eastern com- 
monwealths. 

T|-Q Mt'Ca ^^^ Lone Star State extends from 
the 26th to the 36th parallel of lati- 
tude and lies between the 94th and 106th degrees of 
longitude. The average length, east and west, is 
800 miles, and average breadth, north and south, 
750 miles. It possesses 400 miles of coast line; has 



navigable rivers equaling those of any five other 
states, and 8,952 miles of railroad, mostly trunk 
lines. From Texarkana to El Paso equals the dis- 
tance from New York to Chicago. A man bicycling 
on its boundary lines would travel over 4,000 miles. 
There are 262,290 square miles of "room," and 
hardly thirteen people yet to each square mile. The 
Austrian empire, with about the same area, sustains 
a population of 36,000,000; the German empire, 
with less area has more than 50,000,000 inhabitants. 
Texas could sustain a population of 95,000,000 
within a territory equal to that of the British Isles, 
Denmark, Greece, Holland, Switzerland, Turkey 
and Belgium. A recent census shows that 255,000 
farmers cultivate their own land, 95,000 are tenants 
and 56,000 day laborers. 




A VOYAGE DOWN CHOCOLATE BaYOU 

7^ ♦\l*-%« Beginning with a level coast, 

C/OpOgl'^P'^y there is a gradual ascent north 
and west, to an elevation of 4,000 feet, which affords 
excellent drainage. Three-fourths of this vast area 
can be profitably cultivated. The southeastern and 
southern sections are level and free from rock — here 
is the famous fruit belt, rivaling California. Dense 
forests of red and live oak, cedar, blackjack, mes- 
quite, hackberry, sweet gum, pecan, walnut, cotton- 
wood, sycamore, cypress, ash, elm, hickory and pine 
cover the eastern district — there being 25,000,000 



acres of merchantable pine alone. The timber lands 
comprise 45,000,000 acres, with 67,500,000,000 feet 
of standing- timber. The center of Texas is an un- 
dulating prairie, like the prolific plains of Kansas, 
with succulent grasses — a fine stock country and 
capable of raising immense crops of corn, wheat and 
cotton. West Texas is broken by hills and moun- 
tains, with fertile valleys. The Panhandle region is 
a table-land, and noted for its fat cattle. 

ftc^tlA ^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^^ rich, deep soil of Texas needs 
no fertilizer for standard crops. A moder- 
ate top-dressing of cotton-seed helps to make a larger 
crop, but is not absolutely required. Anything can 
be raised that grows in the temperate zone. Sugar 
cane, cotton, figs, olives, pears and grapes are a 
remarkable success in the South. The Mediterran- 
ean countries do not excel the Texas Coast Country 
in raising fruit. In the Western sections the rain- 
fall is sometimes insufficient, but artesian wells and 
irrigation are aiding the agriculturist to control the 
water supply. As a general thing plenty of rain 
falls throughout other sections to mature crops. 
Texas furnishes its citizens a good living. 

IDl'C^^lltt'ft ■'■^ '^^95 the various products of this 
|LrrVk^UUVtO gj.^^g (from fields, gardens, orchards, 
ranches and factories) amounted to $223,000,000. 
The values of the leading crops were: cotton and 
cotton seed, $61,000,000; corn, $29,000,000; wheat, 
$7,500,000; oats, $5,400,000; garden produce, 
$2,850,000; potatoes, $2,705,000; hay, $1,335,000; 
sugar cane, molasses and sorghum, $3,000,000; 
peaches, apples, grapes, plums, pears and melons, 
$1,645,000; millet, barley and rye, $685,000; garden 
crops, $2,635,000; hay, $1,140,000. 

Texas ranks seventh as a corn producing state, 
first in sheep, eighth in hogs, and her herds of catfle 
are one-sixth of the entire number in the United 
States. 

In 1897 live stock was assessed at $78,365,590, 
the leading items being horses and mules, cattle, 
sheep and hogs. Even the despised goat is quoted 
at a quarter of a million " simoleons." 

ft<»f\<^rtlci ^tc Material wealth is not all. Texas 
C7I.I;WVJI». %.%.%.* ^^^ accumulated a permanent 

school fund (comprising lands and securities) of 
$75,000,000. During 1898-99, 11,045 white and 



2,958 colored teachers were employed in public 
schools, and enough more in private institutions to 
bring the total up to 15,000. Land Commissioner 
Baker reports 38,000,000 acres of land surveyed for 
the permanent school fund. All prominent religious 
denominations are well represented by thriving 
churches, and society in general is of the highest 
order. The hospitality of Texas is proverbial; the 
latch-string is always out. 



#:- 






'A LITTLE FARM, WELL TILLED, 



IDublir L.aild<^ '^^^^^^ ^^^^^ remains upwards 
t^**^**^ l*'<*liV*o q£ 4,000,000 acres of public 
land subject to pre-emption by three years continu- 
ous residence. By this means a married man may 
secure 160 acres and a single man 80 acres. The 
vast bodies of unsold lands belonging to the school 
fund are leased on favorable terms. 

R^«rtllf»r^<\ ^^^^ ^"*^ ^^^'^ ^^^ plentiful, coal 
tVvbOUrCvb being found in thirty counties; one 
bituminous coal formation on the Red River covers 
12,000 square miles, with seams three feet in thick- 
ness. Bituminous and lignite coals are mined in 
the Nueces district, along the Rio Grande River. 
Extensive deposits of iron are reported to exist in 
eastern Texas, covering 1,000 square miles of sur- 
face, many veins being ten feet thick. There are 
surface indications of petroleum in several counties 



along the eastern border, and paying wells have been 
sunk at Nacogdoches. Natural gas has been dis- 
covered in several sections. Besides these three 
fields of iron, three of coal and three of oil, three 
distinct districts of copper have been opened up — 
the ores of the Trans- Pecos region being extensively- 
worked. Gold and silver mines have been discov- 
ered near El Paso, and a 140-foot bed of rock salt 
underlies Victoria. Salt mines are profitably worked 
in a number of counties. Gypsum occurs in the 
Abilene Country. Asphaltum, bat guano, marls, 
mica and granite are found in paying quantities. 

There is an abundance of sand-stone and marble 
of finest quality and colors. The clays of Texas 
are unsurpassed for making brick and pottery, while 
lime and cement are easily produced. 

C*t\f\%^ffi In general the climate of Texas is 
V^lllllittV pleasant and healthful. The heat of 
summer is alleviated either by altitude, as at El 
Paso, or sea breezes, as at Galveston, or constant 
land breezes, as on the interior plains. In winter 
there is very little cold weather along the Gulf, but 
in north and northwest Texas an occasional 
"norther" forces people indoors for a brief time. 
The extremes of heat and cold are not so great as 
occur farther north. Farm work may be carried on 
the year round with but little interruption from 
severe storms. 

Letting El Paso (3,700 feet) represent the Trans- 
Pecos region of Texas, Galveston (sea level) the 
Gulf Coast section, while San Antonio, Austin and 




THE SEAUY HOSPITAL AT GALVESTON. 
11 



Palestine (600 feet each) stand for the Western, 
Central and Eastern districts respectively, and the 
following figures regarding temperature and rain- 
fall will show the variations in different parts of 
this vast empire — mean annual rainfall — El Paso, 
13.14 inches; Galveston, 52.80 inches; Austin, 35.78 
inches; Palestine, 47.56 inches; San Antonio, 32.31 
inches. 

The mean spring, summer, autumn and winter 
temperatures for the same places are: 



LOCATION. 


Spring 
Degrees. 


Summer 
Degrees. 


Autumn 
Degrees. 


Winter 
Degrees. 




69.8 
67.7 
65.3 
69.6 
73.6 


83.6 
83.3 
79.9 
82.3 
80.5 


71.4 
67.7 
66.5 
68.7 
62.3 


55.3 


Austin 


51.8 


Palestine 


47.6 


San Antonio 

El Paso 


53.8 
47.3 



The wealth on top of the ground, waiting to be 
tickled into a laughing harvest by the man with the 
plow, is what Texas depends upon to attract settlers. 
And while cotton, corn and wheat are the " stand- 
bys" — cotton leading in importance — the beautiful 
region on the Gulf Coast, where ten acres will sup- 
port a family and twenty acres is a competence, is 
crowding other sections for first place. 




FAMILY PETS. 



12 



Zhc Coast Country 

• • • 

Slh^r^ Tt Tft ^^^ ^^^^^^ region of Texas 
\A«»i/vi V ^v J,c» comprises that part of the 
State bordering the Gulf of Mexico, from Sabine 
River to the Rio Grande and extending inland nearly 
one hundred miles. This pamphlet is more par- 
ticularly concerned with the portion immediately 
tributary to the line of the Santa Fe Route, embrac- 
ing the counties of Harris, Galveston, Brazoria, Ft. 
Bend, Wharton and Jackson. 

The location of the Coast country gives to it 
unequaled advantages and possibilities. Lying 
on the borders of the temperate and tropic zones, 
and on the northern shore of a great inland sea, the 
nipping and eager air of winter and the withering 
waves of scorching summer heat are not known. 
There is the gentle, budding springtime, lengthen- 
ing out into the long days of June; succeeded by 
summer, Nature's ripening time, which the trade- 
winds daily sweeping northward from the Gulf tem- 
per to a delightful coolness; and then the long, 
bright, sunny fall, ending with a short, mild winter. 

7|Tf^^4> T*. Tft This is in general a prairie 
W4l7itt A,t A,0 country, an undulating plain, 
rising five feet to the mile northward from the Gulf, 
and embracing large forest areas along its water 
courses. The timber is' chiefly oak, live oak, ash, 
walnut, pecan, mesquite and sycamore. To the 
west of the Brazos River in the coast country are 
great tracts of cedar. For several years there has 
been a large export trade in cedar logs cut far in the 
interior, hauled to the Brazos and then shipped by 
boat or rail to (^alveston, where they are transhipped 
to Europe. The general surface is sixty to one 
hundred feet above mean tide level, most of it suffi- 
ciently rolling to afford good drainage into numerous 
local streams and bayous, which in turn empty into 
the bays along the great Gulf. Good water for 
domestic uses is found everywhere under the clay 
subsoil, and artesian wells are numerous. There are 
few localities but which can be inexpensively drained 
and the fertile land thus rendered fit for the plow. 

13 



Proper drainage is the main problem here — how to 
get rid of surplus surface water. An underlying 
stratum of quicksand affords almost perfect sub- 
irrigation. 

Che ^Oil ^" ^^^^ river valleys the soil is a deep 
black, sandy loam. Fertilizers do 
not seem to be required. There is no " wear out " 
to it because formed of alluvial deposits originating 
in the rich lands of the North. The prairie soil con- 
sists of three kinds of sandy loam, friable and easily 
tilled; it rots quicker than the stiffer sod of Illinois 
or Kansas. It is covered with a very compact sod, 
that must be broken and allov^ed to rot before it 




GUNNING FOR WILD FOWL ON BUFFALO BAYOU. 

can be pulverized and, even then there seems to be 
something that requires air and heat to rectify before 
it will produce well. One year's work will bring it 
into good productive condition, when, with proper 
fertilizing, it cannot be surpassed. For pears alone 
this is not necessary, as experience has fully proved 
that if set on sod that has been simply lapped over 
with several turns of the plow, the trees will grow 
about as well as if the ground had been previously 
prepared. 

The black waxy or hog wallow loam (suitable for 
sugar cane, cotton and berries), is exceedingly rich, 
though more difficult to till. These soils are no 
better than those found in the jNIissouri, Miami, 

14 



Scioto or Kansas valleys. Their chief value lies in 
the rare combination which Southern Texas offers 
of a rich soil, abundant rainfall and genial climate. 

I^K^ ti ^it\f-iktt '^'^^^ annual rainfall of the 
\^n€ IVairirail ^exas coast district within the 
rain belt is from 43 to 65 inches, well distributed 
throughout the spring and summer; besides, the 
heavy dews, a characteristic feature of the region, 
furnish a source of daily refreshment for all forms of 
plant life. 

vy^ '^ J |^*#^*%rt Both soil and climate are 
VariCO \i^rOp» adapted to the bountiful 
production of a greater variety of field, garden and 
orchard crops than any like extent of territory in 
the United States. Indeed, omitting the apple, it is 
well nigh impossible to mention any field, garden or 
fruit crop which may not be grown here in the great- 
est abundance, and of finest quality, if only the 
right varieties be selected. 

Fruits rivaling those of California and vegetables 
equal to any grown in the North are ready for mar- 
ket here a month to six weeks earlier than in the 
district which has hitherto enjoyed a monopoly of 
supplying eastern cities. This is possible because 
the crop season along the Gulf Coast of Texas begins 
early and stays late. During one of these long 
periods two and three crops of many varieties of farm 
and garden products may be grown, and the soil 
apparently still be as vigorous as ever. Corn, oats, 
sorghum, hay, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugar 
cane, Egyptian and Sea Island cotton, Cuban 
tobacco, figs, pears, plums, grapes — the list might 
be expanded into a small catalogue. They all do 
well. The farmer and horticulturist does not have 
to urge forward his restless team of sun and soil. 
Rather they require holding back, lest the land pro- 
duce too abundantly, beyond the capacity of its 
owner to properly care for the resultant marvelous 
crops. 

Fish abound in all the streams, while in the waters 
of the (julf they are so plentiful as to fill the local 
markets with a variety of finny creatures whose puz- 
zling names sound queerly to the landsman. And 
oysters — they can be had for the mere trouble of 
gathering, if one will go to the Culf. 

The man who deliberately stays hungry and poor 

15 



in the Coast Country is worthless and lazy beyond 
redemption. 

Lay siege to a vSouth Texas plantation and you 
could not starve out the owner. He would still 
contentedly fill his old cob pipe with home grown 
tobacco, every bit as good as the imported leaf; and 
shake down ripe walnuts and pecans from trees in 
the timber lot for winter use. Luscious pears, 
peaches, strawberries and figs would form his dessert 
ten months in the year. Hardly a day would pass 
without fresh vegetables on the table plucked from 
his own truck patch. From the product of white 
acres of cotton and flocks of sheep could be fashioned 
homespun garments good enough for anybody. 




ONLY TWO YEARS FROM THE SOD. 

Rich cane fields would contribute syrup and sugar. 
Fat hogs and sleek cattle would grow fatter and 
sleeker on river bottom corn and be transformed 
into bacon or beef. There is also plenty of fuel 
close at hand — while bayou and stream sustain fish 
in abundance. Even the vagrant winds bring in 
wild fowl from the Gulf. No one can be quite so 
independent as the man who owns a good farm in 
the Coast Country. 

/^^^rtf- t\^ T -^ttA I'^rm and garden land in the 
KA^^l Ol M^^nU (^j^jif (^Q.^^^ ij^H „o,^ costs 

from $io to $25 per acre in small tracts, with a re- 
duction if bought in large bodies. In the immediate 



vicinity of railroad depots and in some other- 
wise specially favored localities, a higher price is 
asked. There is considerable good fruit, berry and 
vegetable land, not yet taken, which can be pur- 
chased at an average price per acre of $io to $15. 
Water rights for surface irrigation (as in California) 
are not necessary, because the abundant rainfall is 
supplemented by sub-irrigation. 

ImprOVCineTltS supposing the land you buy 
■^ is raw prairie. The first 

thing required is shelter for family and stock — the 
next, a suitable fence. A two-room box house, set 
on wooden blocks or stones, with two flues, may be 
built for $150; for three rooms allow $225; four 
rooms $325. A two-room frame house, plain finish 
with porch will cost $325; three rooms $480; four 
rooms $640, and five rooms $760, A four-room 
frame house with fireplace and neat trimmings may 
be put up for $1,000. Very little shelter is needed 
for stock; cheap outbuildings will do until perma- 
nent ones can be afforded. A barbed wire fence 
with posts say twelve feet apart and strung with 
four wires around 100 acres will average $roo in 
cost. Where timber for posts is available close at 
hand the expense will be much less. The cost of 
sinking a drive well is quite reasonable. 

f"illC lVl3.l*llCtS ^^ '""^t ^^^ people busy with 
here? Cialveston and Hous- 
ton have a population of 130,000 people. Galves- 
ton is the chief seaport of the Texas Coast, and 
Houston is its main railroad center. There is 
considerable manufacturing and the carrying trade 
employs large numbers of people. These persons 
and the truck farmers, fruit-growers and stock- 
raisers of the rural districts have a constant, near-by 
market, with thickly settled central and northern 
Texas not far away. 

The counties of Brazoria, Harris and Galveston 
are building a system of fine graded roads, part of 
them shelled, leading to neighboring trade centers. 
This employs some surplus labor and gives quick 
and easy access to local markets, while the splendid 
harbor facilities at Galveston afford the grower of 
grains and the producer of fruits a seaboard market 
for his surplus, at seaboard prices, untaxed by rail- 
way tolls. 

17 



^rtrt^ fttvi<tf\? Good schools and churches 
\DOOa OOClCry ^^^ ^^cated in most of the 
settlements, some of them levying special tax for 
the support of their educational institutions. New- 
comers need not fear they will lose sight of the little 
red school house in the lane. The inhabitants are 
industrious and law-abiding, and the country is ex- 
empt from social disorders of all kinds. It is a 
good place to come with your family and settle. 

T't^^ T ^\v*(\ The following property is exempt 
V.i;i^ M^awxy ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^. Home- 
stead of 200 acres and improvements in country, or 
in city to value of $5,000; all farming tools, library, 
five milch cows and their calves, two yoke of oxen, 
two horses, one wagon, one carriage or buggy, 
twenty hogs and twenty sheep, provisions and for- 
age, also current wages. Homestead can be sold 
under execution only for purchase money or for 
material and labor furnished, and then only when 
contract is separately signed by wife. 

farming is in danger of being overdone for many 
years. At Algoa, Alvin, Arcadia, Alta Loma, 
Hitchcock, Manvel, Pearland, Dickinson, North 
Galveston, I.a Porte, Clear Creek, Webster and 
Fairwood there are about 25,000 acres under culti- 
vation. It would hardly make a good-sized cattle 
ranch up in north Texas. 



Hn explanation ^ 



The "Coast Country of 



rainfall. The Government record for the last 
twenty years gives from forty- five to sixty-two 
inches, well distributed. 

The year iSgg was an eventful one; winter and 
early spring were unusually dry, but sub-irrigation 
came to the rescue and good crops as usual pre- 
vailed. 

In June, 1899, the largest rainfall yet recorded 
was had, resulting in serious damage to crops and 
stock on the I^razos bottom, where for a hundred 
miles the negroes who largely cultivate the rich Pra- 
zos bottoms for a sliare of the cotton lost their all and 
were assisted by the generous citizens of the state 
and nation. Most of the Texas railroads were also 



damaged by the washing out of bridges aqd for 
ten days traffic was impeded. 

These facts were heralded by the press all over 
the United States, and a false impression was given 
that the country at large was injured. On the 
contrary the prairie lands of the " Coast Country" 
(which include nine-tenths of that rich section) were 
benefited and the Coast Country cheap prairie 
lands are now being purchased more rapidly than 
ever. 

Another fact should not be lost sight of. Those 
rich Brazos bottoms — more rich than the Valley of 
the Nile — raising a bale and a half of cotton to the 
acre, have only been thus overflowed four times in 
the last sixty-six years, in 1833, 1852, 1885, and now 
in 1899. Only once in every sixteen years, the other 
fifteen years raising the largest crops known any- 
where. There is hardly any section in America 
that from some cause does not lose a crop once in 
from five to ten years. 

This year of 1899 has demonstrated two things: 
That the prairie lands never fail of a crop whether 
too wet or too dry; also the wonderful recuperative 
qualities that the soil and semi-tropical climate give 
to that favored region. Hardly had the waters 
receded from the bottoms before cotton, corn, kaffir 
corn and seeds of vegetables of all kinds were prompt- 
ly furnished the hapless negroes whose crops were 
destroyed, and now in August of the same year the 
farms are again green with new crops that will 
mature in from thirty to one hundred days, sufficient 
to more than support the families of these people. 

T^f^^ ^IltllfV Else^^'^''^^^ ^^^ given in detail the 

' /^^^'^ advantages of the flourishing 
towns that line the Santa Fe right-of-way from 
Hitchcock to Houston. 

Everybody in Texas "pulls" for Texas. Confi- 
dence begets confidence. It is the firm belief of 
every farmer on the Culf, Colorado cS: Santa Fe Kail- 
way that he either has or will have an orchard or 
small fruit farm just as good and just as valuable 
as the hnest one growing, and it does not require 
a very vivid stretch of the imagination to see, within 
a decade, an unbroken line of manorial gardens, 
country gentlemen's residences and closely cultivated 
farms all the way from Virginia Point to Houston. 

19 



6ulf Coast Climate 

• • • 

The temperature aion<j: tlie Ciulf Coast of Texas, 
winter and summer, rarely varies to exceed 15° daily. 
January is the coldest month in the year; during 
"twenty years the minimum temperature has fallen 
below 20° in five years only, below 25° in ten years, 
and below 30° in thirteen years. The temperature 
along the immediate coast has not reached a maxi- 
mum of 100° in this period, the highest record being 
98° in August, 1874. July is the warmest month. 
Killing frosts do not usually occur at Houston or 
Galveston until after December i and the unwel- 
come visitation is frequently delayed until January. 
Four years in twenty there was no frost whatever at 
Galveston, and in five different years there was but 
a single frost. The last hard frost appears any time 
between January 5 and February i. 

Cwo Decades p^i^L^ofS S'^t ot 

cial, U. S. Weather Bureau, Galveston. He keeps a 
careful tab on the daily weather and is authority on 
the climate of Galveston. As Galveston may fairly 
be considered representative of the Coast country, 
his reports from a record of twenty years prior to 
1 89 1 are of great interest and value. 

l)r. Cline publishes the following statistics with 
regard to temperature : Normal, 52.3° in January 
to 84.6° in July; highest monthly mean, 63.7° in 
February to 86.2° in July; lowest monthly mean, 
46.7° in January to 82° in July; maximum (highest) 
75° in February to 98° in August; minimum (lowest) 
11° in January to 70° in August; greatest monthly 
range, 26° in February to 58° in January; least 
monthly range 14° in August to 30° in November. 
The normal precipitation is 52.48 inches yearly, 
well distributed through the growing season; average 
number of clear days per year, 133; average number 
of partly cloudy days, per year, 140; average num- 
ber of cloudy days per year, 92; average number of 
days with some sunshine, 318. Prevailing direction 
of wind is southeast; average hourly velocity ranges 
from 8.0 miles in July to 11.9 in January. 

21 



Gulf BfCCZCS The Texas coast winter is 
more a name than a fact. In 
summer the weather is without noticeable variation. 
This evenness of temperature is what makes it possi- 
ble for the farmer to work comfortably out of doors 
nearly every day in the year. The genial southern 
trade wind, blowing over a thousand miles of salt 
water, brings both warmth and coolness, and con- 
tributes to maintain a similarity of seasons. This 
v^^ind is always in evidence, but rarely moves with 
enough violence to stir the dust. During a long 
period, only a few times has it blown a gale, while 
cyclones are unknown. 

No matter how fervent may be the direct rays of 
the sun, a step into the shade brings pleasant relief. 
The nights are uniformly agreeable. Occasionally 
there is a hard frost, preceded by a strong wind from 
the north. It is the " norther," the fag end of wdiich 
drops down from snow-covered Dakota prairies to 
inform Texans that Christmas is coming. Sensi- 
tive ears and tender plants have hardly felt its nip 
when the flurry is over, and the all-pervading Gulf 
breeze resumes its sway. 

GxpCVi^Q Views H^^^- N- W. McLaln, ex- 
director of the Minnesota 
state agricultural experiment station, is an enthusi- 
astic convert to the allurements of the Gulf coast 
climate. In a newspaper article he says : 

" Many of those who have lived there for years, 
speak confidently concerning the general healthful- 
ness of this region, daily visited by the salt sea 
air. The trade-winds blow every day from the Gulf. 
They dispense life to vegetation and health to the 
inhabitants, wherever they reach. The long sum- 
mers characteristic of this latitude, are by them 
rendered not only endurable but enjoyable. 

" On Christmas Eve it seemed strange to see bare- 
footed boys gazing at Santa Claus and his reindeer 
flying over artificial snow in the shop windows 
in Ilouston; and the salutation, ' Merry Christmas' 
sounded like a joke at a funeral. On New Years 
day, it seemed rather unseasonable to sit without a 
coat or hat, on a porch literally covered with roses, 
and elegant Marechal Niels blooming out on the 
lawn. On the twelfth of January I pulled oranges 
from fine old trees, among the most luxuriant gar- 
dens and lawns in Victoria. The nineteenth day of 

22 



January I walked through a small held of alfalfa 
sown the twenty-eight day of last October. The 
growth completely covered the ground, and the 
plants averaged eighteen inches in height. January 
22d, in the gardens and fields near Alvin, I found 
the people picking strawberries." 

^Jrt lVLill<ll*i^ Malaria is not prevalent in 
' the country except when in- 

vited by carelessness or ignorance. Though this 
is a flat region, it has but few tracts of swampy 
land of small extent. Where forests occur, along 
the bayous, they are devoid of undergrowth; a sign 
that nothing is present productive of ague. The 
surplus rainfall drains into the Gulf — chills and 
fever only appearing sporadically along overflowed 
and undrained river bottoms. On the high open 
prairies, malaria is an almost unknown visitor, ex- 
cept where water is permitted to remain stagnant. 

Colds and catarrh cause more suffering and 
deaths in the New England states alone, than the 
combined diseases of the Oulf Coast. No deadly 
epidemic diseases have visited this section for a quar- 
ter of a century. Periodical fevers are almost entirely 
absent. 

r^OUStOH Calveston and Houston are both 
healthful cities. Dr. Robt. McEl- 
roy, city health officer at Houston, says : 

" The health of the city of Houston compares 
favorably with any city in the United States, the death 
rate for 1 8g8 being very small, undoubtedly caused by 
better sewage, more paved streets and the universal 
use of artesian water. Our death rate for the four 
pastyears was as follows: 1895, 13.5 per 1,000; 1 8g6, 
10.4; iSg7, 13.5; 1898, 9.7. Malaria is comparatively 
unknown now, due principally to use of artesian 
water, of which there is an inexhaustible supply. 
Better surface drainage and sewerage also adds much 
to our improved condition. Contagious diseases are 
comparatively unknown. Our mild climate, cool Gulf 
breezes and freedom from sudden changes in tem- 
perature makes Houston one of the most desirable 
places to live in found anywhere in the South." 

^^IY^Q^^I^ P>om a recent report issued by 1 )r. 
W. C. Fisher, health officer, Gal- 
veston, it is learned that the general health of that 
city has been good, notwithstanding the outbreak of 

23 



dengue fever during the fall of 1S97. Statistics 
show that out of a population of 50,000 there were 
only 166 deaths during the months of August, Sep- 
tember and October, 1897, as against 175 in i8g6 
and 1S7 in 1895. This too with a growing popula- 
tion. 

Increased sanitary efficiency has brought about 
this condition of affairs. When the $300,000 ap- 
propriated for municipal sewerage has been spent, 
the general healthfulness of Galveston will be even 
better. 

During 1897 the death rate per thousand was a 
fraction under 14, and considerably less for 1898, 
which is a good showing. 

It is noteworthy that typhoid fever, diphtheria, 
scarlet fever, cholera infantum, and other like 
diseases are almost unknown here. For example, 
there were only twenty deaths from typhoid, scarlet 
and malarial fever, and but eight from diphtheria in 
that year. 

fj 11^ The summers in Texas come early and 
•■■^^^y stay late. If that long succession of 
warm and sunshiny days when one instinctively 
seeks the shady side of the street becomes mono- 
tonous to those who cannot get away for a summer 
vacation, there is, to offset this, only two months 
of winter, and that resembles a northern October. 

You will like it here when once acquainted. 
There is a fascination in what at first sight appears 
undesirable. The soothing Gulf airs are a perpe- 
tual invitation to cease worry and fret and hurry. 
They call to just enough indolence to prevent the 
human machine from too hastily wearing out. 

It is not a misdemeanor to be a trifle lazy in 
Texas. 



24 



I^owns and Colonics 

• • • 

IJelow may be found a detailed description of the 
more important cities, towns and colonies situated 
on or contiguous to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe 
Railway in the Gulf Coast country. The various 
jMennonite colonies are mentioned elsewhere. 

flfltfrt^ The town of Algoa and its fruit land sub- 
j:HVjV'<( urbs lies on the main line of the Gulf, 
Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, midway between 
Houston and Galveston. The location is a favor- 
able one, both as regards quality of soil and near- 
ness to important markets. The town proper is 
growing nicely, but no effort has been made to boom 
it — rather it has been the desire to first settle up the 
fertile surrounding country, A first-class shelled 
road leads from Algoa over a free wagon bridge to 
Galveston, so that products can be rapidly handled 
either by rail or wagon. 

Some 2,000 acres of land adjoining Algoa have 
been platted into small tracts, ranging in size from 
two to forty acres. Each tract fronts on a public 
road and all are within one and a quarter miles of 
the station. The object has been to make this an 
ideal place for orchards, gardens, etc. There will 
be no taxes to pay here until the year 1900. Prices 
of land are governed by location; liberal terms 
offered actual settlers. 

XJ|4->« f <^vM>i Alta Loma (population 700) is 
/lira J^Oma ^^^^ ^^^^ station beyond Hitch- 
cock, being seventeen miles from Galveston, on the 
main ( iulf , Colorado & Santa Fe line. It is the center 
of the Gulf Coast's magnificent fruit belt — a high 
prairie, heavily sodded with native grasses, and drain- 
ing to the Gulf by an almost imperceptible descent. 

The soil is a black sandy loam, several feet thick, 
with a yellowish clay subsoil, all underlaid with 
coarse gravel. 

Alta Loma has plenty of pure fresh water, ob- 
tained from artesian wells at a depth of 550 to 700 
feet. In this vicinity are nineteen artesian wells. 
The water works for the city of Cialveston were 

25 



located here at a cost of about a million dollars. 
Five million gallons of water are delivered in the 
city every twenty-four hours. 

The entire tract of 8,000 acres is surveyed into 
subdivisions of ten, twenty and forty acres, and is 
traversed by roads so arranged as to afford every 
ten-acre parcel easy access to the station. 

Alta Loma has a fine public school building- with 
an attendance of 200 children; has two churches, 
Eaptist and Presbyterian; has a first-class canning 
factorv and preserving works, the plant represent- 
ing an outlay of more than $10,000 and doing a 
prosperous business; also has a shirt and overall 
factory employing quite a number of operatives. 
The township has about thirty miles of graded roads 
and a fine system of drainage. Hundreds of acres 
are now planted in fruit trees, vegetables and flower 
gardens. "Alta Loma," in the language of its 
founder, "has not a man, woman or child but what 
is well clothed and well fed. Its people are healthy, 
prosperous, law-abiding and happy." 

/ilvilt ^^ Brazoria County, near Mustang Bayou, 
surrounded by fertile prairies, and at the 
junction of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe main 
line and Houston branch, is the wide-awake city of 
Alvin. Its present population is 
estimated at 2,000 people, chiefly 
acquired within the past seven 
years. There are 
about 5,000 peo- 
ple within three 
miles of the cen- 
ter of town. All 
kinds of retail 
business are ful- 
ly represented. 
Alvin now has 
several spacious 

school build- ADOORYARDAT 

ings, several at- 
tractive church edifices, and no saloons. 
The Methodist College for Southern Texas and 
Louisiana is located here. Ice factory plants, two 
cotton gins and a vinegar establishment are recent 
acquisitions, brick and drain tile works and a can- 
ning factory are assured. Several substantial brick 
business houses are being erected, and franchises 

27 




have Deen granted for electric lighting, street car 
lines and a telephone exchange. There is an abund- 
ance of pure, palatable water, obtainable at a depth 
of 15 to 20 feet, and several strong flowing wells of 
choice artesian water. 
•^ The climate of this nook is even and healthy, 
being pleasantly affected, summer and winter, by 
the Gulf breezes. The soil is a dark, sandy loam, 
with clay sub-soil, underlaid at a depth of 10 or 15 
feet with water-bearing quicksand. Average annual 
rainfall is 45 inches. 

The LeConte and Keifer pears here find a con- 
genial home. Peaches, apricots and plums are suc- 
cessfully grown, and the Japan orange is being intro- 
duced. Grapes are a success, the dreaded grape rot 
being practically unknown. Strawberries do well, 
if the ground is properly prepared, the fruit ripen- 
ing in January and continuing to yield until June. 
It is not uncommon to pick ripe strawberries here 
Christmas day. The cape jessamine is extensively 
cultivated around Alvin, forming an important prod- 
uct. All kinds of vegetables flourish — in fact, the 
briny atmosphere, sandy soil and early seasons make 
this the truck farmers' gold mine, two or three crops 
a year being easily grown. Three crops of Irish 
potatoes are frequently raised in one season. Dairy 
products command good prices, and poultry-raising 
is a source of profit. 

The nearness of Houston and Galveston, with 
ample service over the Santa Fe Route, supplemented 
by excellent country roads, brings Alvin in close touch 
with unexcelled local markets. The privilege of 
attaching loaded cars to the fast freight train for 
northern points is assisting fruit and vegetable 
growers. In i8g8 the shipments by express from 
Alvin to northern and eastern markets amounted to 
15,164 crates of strawberries, covering a fruiting 
season of more than eighty days. The cash prices 
ranged from $4.00 to $4. 50 up to March loth, $3. 50 
for the next two weeks, $3.00 for the following two 
weeks and $2.75 for final clean up — as compared 
with only $1.50 per crate in many berry districts. 

Tit^\ai'^t*A^trt Amsterdam is located twelve 

southeastern part of Brazoria County. This town 
was started three years ago by the Texas Coloniza- 
tion Co., which owns a large adjoining tract. 

28 



This is an exceptional body of land, owinj^ to 
proximity to the Gulf and excellent drainage as well 
as the superior quality of the soil. Prices range 
from $12.50 to $15 per acre, on very favorable 
terms to actual settlers. To get to this property buy 
a ticket over the Santa Fe Route and get off at Alvin, 
taking a private conveyance thence to Amsterdam, 

3|#^^^|^ Arcadia was settled in the spring of 
1S90. It is situated on the line of the 
Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, twenty-one 
miles from Galveston, and twenty-nine feet above 
sea level. The soil is a sandy and black loam, 
underlaid with yellow clay. For vegetables the 
sandy loam is generally preferred, though both are 
good for fruits. 

The whole country is sub-irrigated at a depth of 
five or six feet, rendering it drouth proof so far as trees 
are concerned, although even vegetables rarely suffer. 

Artesian water can be had at a depth of 100 to 
600 feet, the quality being better at the greater 
depths. Every variety of vegetable succeeds well. 
Tomatoes ripen by the middle of May; strawberries 
are ready for picking last of February, and bear 
abundantly until June, a yield of $150 to $300 per 
acre not being uncommon. LeConte and Keifer 
pears are always vigorous, absolutely healthy, and 
bear an average of eight bushels to each tree six 
years old. American grapes are uniformly healthy, 
productive and free from rot or mildew. Cotton 
does well without manuring, the yield ranging from 
one-half to a full bale, and in lower locations sugar- 
cane is a success; it is not hurt by frost before the 
first of December and rarely prior to the middle of 
January. l*ears have been planted here on 3,000 
acres and peaches on 200 acres. The largest orchards 
are owned by B, F. Johnson, C. Peterson, J. Whai- 
ton Terry, C. E. Angell and E. C. Lamb. 

There is no malaria, the sea breeze sweeping it 
av/ay. Land is for sale at reasonable prices. 

}il*COlil -^^cola, in Fort Bend County, is the 
name of a pretty town on the Gulf, 
Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, where that road 
connects with the International & Great Northern 
and the Sugarland & Areola Railways. This prom- 
ising place is eighteen miles from Houston and 
forty-three miles from Galveston. 





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The country round about is filling up with a 
desirable class of farmers, more than one hundred 
families having settled here. Here is the dividing 
line between the immense stretch of black prairie 
extending eastward to Galveston Bay and the 
bottom lands of Oyster Creek and Brazos River 
on the west. West of Areola the bottom lands have 
been utilized as cotton, sugar and corn plantations; 
they are now being divided into farm tracts and 
rapidly taken up by small farmers. The eastern 
prairies were originally devoted to the grazing of 
cattle; these also are being placed upon the market 
in small holdings. 

Good drinking and stock water is obtained any- 
where in the Areola region at a depth of 20 to 40 
feet. Pure artesian water flows freely when tapped 
300 to Soo feet below the surface. 

Nearly everything grows here. Cotton makes one 
bale to the acre; the corn product is 40 to 50 bushels 
per acre; oats are a success, the annual yield per 
acre averaging 60 to 75 bushels. 

At Areola is located the sugar plantation and fac- 
tory of J. H. B. House. Cane yields 20 to 30 tons 
per acre and the factories pay about $3 per ton for it. 

Truck gardening is also quite remunerative. 
Beans, onions, peas, cabbage, potatoes, beets, toma- 
toes, melons, etc. , grow to perfection and bring high 
prices in adjacent markets. From $200 to $500 can 
be made from a winter garden of two acres, and the 
same ground planted in summer with grains. Pears, 
strawberries and all kinds of fruit do well. Tame 
grasses — timothy, crimson clover, bermuda and 
alfalfa — are successfully grown. 

Areola has three railroads, two sugar factories, a 
lumber yard, two hotels and livery stable. It desires 
a general store, cotton gin, newspapers, brickyard, 
drug store, canning factory and floral garden. 



€'dH^ Edna, Jackson County (population 2,000) 
lies near the waters of Matagorda Bay, 
but has little water front, thus being beyond the 
range of any coast storms. The land is level. 
Much of it needs artificial drainage to become pro- 
ductive; this can easily be accomplished by taking 
advantage of the many fresh water creeks, such as 
Mustang, Sandy, Navidad, I.avaca, Arenosa, Benan, 



81 



Coxe's and Keller. These streams are skirted with 
timber, furnishing an abundance of fuel and fence 
posts. About 70 per cent, is prairie and 30 per cent, 
timber. 

The soil is fertile, producing corn, cotton, vege- 
tables and fruits; corn yields an average per acre of 
30 bushels; sweet potatoes, 200 bushels; prairie hay, 
one ton, and cotton 300 pounds. With proper cul- 
tivation pears are particularly successful. Good 
water is plentiful. The climate is healthful. 

Edna, the county seat, is located on the line of 
the Southern Pacific Co. sixty-seven miles west of 
Rosenberg. It is a growing town of 1,500 inhabi- 
tants, closely in touch with the surrounding country. 
Edna's public schools, churches and stores are far 
above the average. 

Unimproved lands, in tracts of almost any size, 
may be bought at $4 to $10 per acre. Higher prices 
are charged for lands near the county seat and rail- 
road, or for improved farms. Prospective settlers 
in the Coast Region of Texas are invited to exam- 
ine what is offered in the vicinity of Edna, in case 
they should not find exactly what is wanted at a 
point nearer the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Rail- 
way 

^|_ C<iHiPO Seven years ago there was no El 
Campo. Today the town has a 
population of over 1,200. More than twenty new 
business enterprises have been established here 
within the past year. Wharton County is being 
rapidly populated by a very enterprising class of 
people, largely consisting of Swedes. There are 
very few negroes. 

Around El Campo is some of the richest soil in 
Texas, high and comparatively dry. The surround- 
ing country, which was once a large cattle pasture, 
is being divided into fruit and cotton farms. 

El Campo has butchers, bakers, lumbermen, bank- 
ers, grocers — in fact every leading branch of trade 
is represented. The New York, Texas & Mexican 
Railway furnishes good shipping facilities. 

The business district is composed of substantial 
wooden structures of modern architecture, while 
large, spacious churches have been erected by several, 
denominations. 




PEAR ORCHARD NEAR FAIRBANKS. 

^3.il*b^1lkS Fairbanks is located twelve miles 
northwest of Houston, on the 
Houston & Texas Central Railroad and on the main 
county thoroughfare, called the Washington County- 
Road. This is now macadamized out from Houston 
to within three miles of Fairbanks. Work is rapidly 
progressing on about five miles more. 

The land in that vicinity is a black, sandy loam, 
mostly prairie, with strips of timber along the creeks. 
The elevation is from five to eight feet to the mile, 
which affords excellent natural drainage in connec- 
tion with the railroad and county road ditches run- 
ning through the center of the property, and a creek 
on either side. 

The lands around the town are being rapidly 
settled by thrifty northern farmers, who seem to be 
contented and doing well. The prices range from 
$5 to $io per acre. There is a sawmill and planing 
mill within four miles of Fairbanks, which supplies 
cheap building material. The best of well water 
can be had at the depth of 15 to 30 feet at a cost of 
50 cents per foot with pipe and pump all complete. 

A general store and lumber yard, carpenter and 
blacksmith shops, school, postoffice, depot and 
express office are part of the conveniences of the 
town. Newcomers have organized and expect to 
raise vegetables and melons in quantities, so that 
they can ship in carload lots to northern markets. 
Some of the finest vegetables and melons on the 
Houston market in the ])ast three years were raised 
at Fairbanks, and a number of carloads were shipped 
to northern markets with very satisfactory results. 



Mr. C. W. Hahl has several acres ot canaigre 
planted which is doing: nicely, and promises to be a 
profitable crop; this is used for tanning purposes. 
It is becoming very popular where introduced and 
the demand cannot be supplied. The profit per acre, 
at a conservative estimate is from $.',0 to $50. 

Galv^fttOfl ^^^^^ cities rise and flourish in re- 
V/aiVVOVV^Il sponse to a need. Rarely are they 
created by individual fiat or caprice. 

Galveston supplies a distinct want, that of ocean 
port for the Southwest, and therefore will grow stead- 
ily year by year, keeping pace with the territory it 
serves. The city is built on the extreme eastern end 
of Galveston Island, just off the Gulf Coast of Texas, 
is six miles in area, and has a population of nearly 
65,000. 

This fact appears remarkable; that a city of that 
size should transact business equal to other commu- 
nities with three or .four times more inhabitants. 
The anomaly is easily explained. The finest land- 
locked harbor on the Gulf of Mexico has given Gal- 
veston an immense carrying trade. Here come ships 
from European and South American ports to carry 
away cotton, corn and wheat, in exchange for 
money or foreign commodities. So profitable has 
been the handling of these exchanges that conserva- 
tive merchants and brokers were content to reap 
assured gains without seeking to bring in strangers 
by heralding to the outside world the city's manifest 
advantages. Already this is the third richest city in 
the United States according to population. 

Galveston was not discovered in the true sense of 
the word, until a few years ago. Then the great 
West awoke to the fact that by means of the Santa 
Ye Route it was linked to a first-class deep water 
port, the largest and deepest on the Gulf Coast, sev- 
eral hundred miles nearer the interior than is New 
York City. For example: Galveston is 220 miles 
nearer to St. Louis, 739 miles nearer Denver and 483 
miles nearer Kansas City than New York is. 

The United States Government estimates that 
$6,200,000 is required to secure a channel of suffi- 
cient depth across the bar at the entrance of the bay. 
Now there is more than 27 feet of water at average 
tides, which will be increased to accommodate any 
craft that floats. Jetty construction was begun in 
1885, but work was not actually pushed until iSgo. 



The south jetty is seven and one-half miles long and 
the north arm has been extended nearly six miles. 

During 1896 there arrived at Galveston 28 vessels 
from foreign ports, of which number one-sixth car- 
ried cargoes, not including the small local craft. 
The clearances were 303, all with cargoes. The 
number of vessels entered in the coastwise business 
that year was 369. A gratifying increase in ocean 
trade is reported for 1898. As an exporting city 
Galveston ranks fourth or fifth, and has regular 
steamer lines to Houston, Key West, New York, 
Brazos, Santiago and Morgan City; also between 
Galveston and the foreign ports of Hamburg, Bre- 
men, Antwerp, Liverpool, Manchester, Tampico 
and Vera Cruz. 

Four miles of completed wharves, on the bay 




COTTON WHARF, GALVESTON. 



front, with room for more, amply accommodate 
existing trafiic. Four immense grain elevators have 
been erected, with storage capacity of 2,500,000 
bushels; other elevators are projected. During the 
commercial season, after September i, tfie docks are 
filled with bales of cotton. Cotton is the chief staple 
of Texas and half of it comes to Galveston, making 
this the first cotton port of America, an honor 
previously belonging to New Orleans, the value of 
Galveston cotton exports, season of 1898-1899, 
being $51,271,392, against New Orleans' $35,355,- 
647, the former gaining nearly $12,000,000 and the 
latter losing $10,000,000 in comparison with 1S97- 
1898 — a remarkable showing. Every bale of cotton 



1 !■> 


Ml 


Se^^r: - 



ONE OF THE GALVESTON ELEVA10RS. 



leaves in the city from $i to $1.50 to pay for hand- 
ling, wharfage, etc. 

Cotton and woolen mills, bagging, binding, twine, 
rope and lace factories are established here; the total 
of manufacturing establishments is 43. The tish 
and oyster business will soon rival that of Baltimore. 

The total exports for 1896 amounted to $56,000,- 
000; customs-house receipts for 1896, $191,945, 
These figures give a fair idea of the business pass- 
ing through Galveston. 

Hon. A. J. Rosenthal, deputy collector of cus- 
toms, has compiled the following interesting addi- 
tional data respecting Galveston's commerce: 

" The tonnage of vessels which have entered this 
port for the last three years was as follows: 1898, 
899,112 tons; 1897, 642,465 tons; 1896, 496,045 
tons. It is to be taken into consideration that 
during the months of our war with Spain the coast- 
wise trade with New York and Boston was entirely 
suspended. 

The following table shows some of the exports 
from the farms of the State of Texas, via Galveston: 

Cotton. — 1898, 1,982,618 bales, 1,557,480,207 
lbs., $55,789,071 value; 1897, 1,380,728 bales, 
724,882,228 lbs., $53, 641, 284 value; 1896, 1,159,895 
bales, 614,744,456 lbs., $49,179,556 value. 

Cottonseed Meal and Cake. — 1898, 519,375,- 
071 lbs., $4,350,526 value; 1897, 373,665,521 lbs., 
$2,939,312 value; 1896, 306,691,523 lbs., $3,060,900 
value. 



Cottonseed Oil. — 1898, 9,761,567 gals., $2,- 
483,824 value; 1897, 4,431,001 gals., $1,181,000 
value; 1896, 1,936,499 gals., $484,125 value. 

Cottonseed. — 1898, 2,872,580 lbs., $17,317 
value. 

Breadstuffs. — 1898, $12,195,322 value; 1897, 
$8,269,951 value; 1896, $4,291,668 value. 

Value of Live Stock. — 1898, $77,141,816; 
1897, $60,965,060; 1896, $55,999,228. 

Valueof Foreign Imports. — 1898, $2,586,300; 
1897, $644,237; 1896, $794,908; 1895, $337,178. 

grand totals. 





Vessels. 


Tons. 


Exports. 


Ijipokts. 


1898 


759 
705 
613 


1,214.013 
l,03fi,522 

844.426 


$77,148,836 
60,965,060 
55,999.228 


$2,586,300 


1897 

]89fi 


644,237 
794.908 



Comparison of Cash Receipts January and 

February, 1898-1899. 
1899, Jan., $23,327.18; 1898, Jan., $19,699.31 
1899, Feb., 18,990.51; 1898, Feb., 9,475.00 
Net increase in Custom House receipts $13,143.38 
in two months. 

Another factor of Galveston's prosperity is its 
selection as headquarters for general offices and 
shops of the Santa Fe System in Texas. Handsome 
and substantial business blocks compactly line sev- 
eral wide streets, and merchants appear to be pros- 
pering. The many beautiful homes, fine churches, 

and numerous 
schools of Gal- 
veston attest its 
superior advant- 
ages as a r e s i- 
dence city. Sev- 
eral large hotels 
invite and foster 
transient custom. 
Al any residents 
of the interior 
r e X a s to w n s 
spend their sum- 
mers in this de- 
lightful spot, in- 
vigorated by the 
cool sea breeze; 

TWO-YEAR OLD PEACH THEE AT WEBSTER. '^^^''^ '^ t:he WintCr 




38 



invalids and pleasure seekers drop down from the 
North to enjoy May weather in December. 

To miss seeing Galveston is not to have seen a 
representative Texas City. 

T%if-ji,t^^g^^t^ Hitchcock, in Galveston County, on 
l/UCI>COCR main line of Gulf, Colorado & Santa 
Fe Railway, fourteen miles from Galveston, is the 
original home of the pear industry in Texas. Here 
formerly lived the eminent horticulturist H. M. 
Stringfellow, who first discovered that this section 
could produce with profit the finest pears in the 
world. His attractive home, beautiful grounds and 
well-kept orchards attest the admirable qualities of 
this place. The original Stringfellow orchard now 
includes probably the largest nursery in Texas; its 
beauty attracts many visitors. 

Numerous strawberry patches and truck farms lie 
within a radius of three miles. The land is sub- 
irrigated. Good well water is found at a depth of 
twelve to eighteen feet, and there are thirteen 
artesian wells, varying in depth from 400 to 700 
feet, with a flow ranging from 45 to 145 gallons per 
minute — the water rising twenty-five and thirty-five 
feet above ground. 

Several large rose nurseries are located here. 
Judge Austin owns a fine nursery, containing 30,000 
roses and 1,000 magnolias. W. L. Schumate and 
Capt. J. Aiken have 250,000 rose bushes, and F. 
Renaud 30,000. Tourists can obtain, in season, 
beautiful bouquets of rosebuds to take north, if 
orders are placed a day ahead. Cape jessamines are 
a decided success at Hitchcock, and the Satsuma 
variety of Japan orange is quite popular. 

Over 1,000 acres of the country immediately tribu- 
tary to Hitchcock are planted with pear trees, 100 
acres with strawberries, 100 acres with grapes and 
500 acres are devoted to cultivation of other fruits 
and vegetables. H. N. Lowrey, three miles west 
of Hitchcock, has planted 10,000 pear trees, 3,000 
peach trees and 4,000 plum trees. The Wheeler 
Fruit Company has 11,000 pear trees and 25 acres in 
strawberries. 

Persons desiring to invest in small fruit farms will 
do well to visit Hitchcock. At this point and Alvin 
enough has been accomplished to prove beyond cavil, 
that the coast country of Texas cannot be surpassed 
for productiveness. 



IVMiQ^rAM ^^ Steamships made Galveston, rail- 
* WllovOn roads have made Houston — that pros- 
perous and beautiful city of over 72,(K)o people 
wliich has grown up at the head of tide-water navi- 
j^ation, tifty-tive miles from the head of the jetties at 
Bolivar Peninsula. The L\'th Congress appropri- 
ated $377,000 for immediate use out of the $4,000,- 
000 required to make a channel from the (jalveston 
jetties to the harbor near the heart of this city. 
This government work, when completed, will allow 
the largest ocean going vessels to meet Ilcniston's 
fourteen railroads. As a result the anomaly will be 
presented of an important transportation and com- 
mercial inland city with 14 miles of harbor. That 
vessels can be sheltered by a " land-locked harbor" 
in fresh water is a fact of importance to navigators. 




BUFFALO BAYOU, HOUSTON. 

The city was founded in 1S21 and has grown from 
29,000 inhabitants in 1890 to its present size. Near- 
by are immense forests of pine, oak, etc., and the 
profusion of magnolia groves in the suburbs has 
given it the name of the " Magnolia City." 

These are some of the things that Houston offers 
the newcomer: 

A healthful and enjoyable semi-tropical climate; 
mean summer temperature of 90° and average win- 
ter temperature of 60°; sweet, pure and soft artesian 
water, a low death rate — less tiian nine to the 



thousand — sixty-two miles of paved streets — vitrified 
brick, stone, wood and asphalt; no stagnant water 
and an admirable sewerage system; handsome public 
and business buildings, and many beautiful private 
residences; large modern hotels, a big convention 
hall and many beautiful churches; the finest electric 
street railway system in the south, 46 miles com- 
pleted; a taxable valuation of $27,000,000, the rate 
being $2 per $roo; a high school and 15 public 
schools for benefit of 12,000 children. 

The bank clearances for 1898 were $306,946,448, 
an increase of $34,595,466 over 1897, and more than 
many cities of twice Houston's population. Three 
million dollars are invested in building associations, 
$350,000 in transportation lines, and $4,600,000 in 
manufacturing and industrial establishments, include 
ing six cotton compresses and four cotton seed oil 
mills. There is plenty of money here to do busi- 
ness with. 




BUSINESS Ul 

Fourteen trunk lines of railroad enter Houston, 
affording ample means for traffic with half of the 
vast area between the lower Mississippi River and 
the Pacific. The roads actually centering in this 
city have a mileage of 5,817 and the connecting sys- 
tems a mileage of 31,000. Seven of them have their 
general ofiices and shops here, disbursing $400,000 



43 



among their employes and officers, and the Santa Fe 
has erected a commodious passenfjer depot on Con- 
gress street to accommodate its rapidly increasing 
traffic. Its trains also run into Grand Central 
Depot. The Santa Fe is the popular line between 
Houston and Galveston. 

The jobbing houses of Houston do an immense 
business ($32,000,000 annually) among the timber 
regions of East Te.xas, the central cotton section 
of the State, and the sugar districts of Texas and 
southwestern Louisiana. Eighty miles of switches, 
side-tracks, etc., afford complete facilities for hand- 
ling freight. In addition to the facilities offered by 
the Santa Fe Route for rail transportation to sea- 
board, a system of barges deliver cargoes on board 
ocean steamers at Galveston without trans-shipment. 

Other items of interest are the gas works, with a 
plant capacity for 100,000 population; public school 
buildings valued at $365,000, and tine artesian water, 
the average supply being 3,000,000 gallons, drawn 
from 39 wells. 

As a cotton market Houston takes a front rank. 
The gross receipts from Sept. ist, i8g8 to March 
qth, i8gQ, were 2,317,715 bales, being an excess of 
receipts this year over last of 632,804 bales. The 
increased amount paid for cotton at Houston in i8g8 
over iSq7 was $34, 535,466, notwithstanding the low 
price of that staple. One-third of the cotton crop 
of America and one-fifth of the cotton crop of the 
world is raised within 450 miles of Houston and 
Galveston. 

There are 40,000,000 acres of pine timber lands 
in East Texas and Louisiana, with Houston as 
headquarters for this immense traffic. The annual 
lumber trade amounts to over $25,000,000. Twen- 
ty-six million dollars worth of traffic was done last 
year over Buffalo Bayou, Houston's " arm of the 
sea. '' 

A large trade of the city of Houston is in Texas 
pioducts, such as cotton, sugar, molasses, melons, 
rice, fruits, lumber, wool and hides, also fish and 
cysrers. Houston has an enviable future before it, 
if the growth of the last decade should be continued 
Its location is such as to command a large share of 
the industrial prosperity of Southern Texas, and it 
will always be an important factor in that region. 



Acknowledgment is hereby made of the courtesy 
of Dr. V. S. MacNider and Messrs. Blackburn & 
Bailey, in furnishing photos of Houston for repro- 
duction herein. 




PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HOUSTON. 

T^ 1r)ot*tC ^^^ confluence of Buffalo Bayou 
^ and San Jacinto River form what is 

known as San Jacinto Bay, a body of fresh water 
seven miles long by from one to two miles in width. 
At the lower end it is almost separated from Gal- 
veston Bay, the great inland sea of Texas, by a prom- 
ontory which ranges in width from 1,500 feet at 
its point to one and one-half miles at its base. 
This promontory has. an elevation of forty feet above 
San Jacinto Bay. and thirty-five feet above Galves- 
ton Bay, the former bank being abrupt, while the 
latter recedes in graceful, easy terraces almost to the 
water's edge. Beautiful hardwood trees, green ten 
nionths in the year, draped with Spanish moss and 
mistletoe, fringe the borders of the promontory, and 
picturesque little islands of the same timber give a 
most pleasing effect to the general landscape. 

By water this promontory is located forty miles 



from Houston and thirty miles from Galveston, but 
by rail or wagon road it is but twenty-four miles 
from Houston and thirty-two miles from Galveston, 
being practically, either by land or water, midway 
between the two great cities of Texas. 

On this strip of land the town of La Porte is situ- 
ated. It is already quite a place with ample rail- 
road, navigation, telegraph and telephone facilities. 
La Porte possesses churches, school-houses, hotels, 
livery stables, stores of all varieties and well-equipped 
bathing houses. The surrounding agricultural coun- 
try (and there is none better in the state) is well de- 
veloped. The proposed great ship channel will 
make it an important commercial point. 

La Porte is becoming widely known throughout 
Texas as a delightful summer resort. It is a veri- 
table Coney Island for Houston, and summer excur- 
sions from that city are frequent. The hunting and 
fishing in the fall and winter attract many sports- 
men from the North, who often remain for months. 
The bathing, boating, fishing and sailing facilities 
are unexcelled. 

Surrounding La Porte, together with the adjoin- 
ing tract of land known as South La Porte, is about 
4,000 acres of land, which has been laid off in small 
tracts for fruit and vegetable farmers. The prices 
of town lots in La Porte and its neighboring farms 
are reasonable and the terms easy. 

In addition to its properties at I^a Porte, the 
American Land Company (with headquarters at 
Chicago, St. Louis and Houston) also has charge of 
the tracts at Meadowbrook and Webster; corre- 
spondence invited. 

IMatlVcl '^"^^ settlement of Manvel is situated 
' in Prazoria County, on the Gulf, 

Colorado & Santa Fe Railway main line, midway 
between Areola and Alvin, and is thirty-six miles 
distant from Houston. Two hundred heads of 
families have settled within a few miles of the depot. 
Many of them are Dunkards. a religious sect whose 
industry and thrift are proverbial. 

It has been demonstrated that it is as fertile as 
any other portion of the coast. Nearly 4,000 acres 
of land has been cut up into ten, twenty and forty 
acre tracts, lying near the town site, the selling 
price being $15 to $30 per acre. The summer of 
1897 the cultivated acreage was as follows: Pears 




DOWN THE PATHS OF PEACE 



and other fruits, 250 acres; strawberries. 100 acres; 
vegetables, 50 acres. 

Cotton is being extensively planted and the region 
around Manvel bids fair to be as great a cotton and 
corn country as Northern Texas. The soil is of 
two kinds, black-sandy and black-waxy, the latter 
being well adapted for corn and cotton. 

Five miles from Manvel is a choice tract of 20,000 
acres, in a solid body, located on the west side of 
Chocolate Bayou. It has been surveyed, sub-divided 
and platted into lots of forty acres each, with road- 
ways for everyone, connecting with the main high- 
way, and so arranged that they can be conveniently 
cut into smaller lots of ten or twenty acres each. 

MiC^ClO WPI*00k Meadow brook, Harris 
County, Texas, consists of 
about 20,000 acres of land, located in the celebrated 
South Texas Coast Country, and controlled by the 
American Land Co. It is within twenty miles of 
Houston, the county seat, which is the largest city 
of Texas. 

The land is all a beautiful prairie, except that the 
banks of Buffalo Bayou and its tributaries are 
fringed with groves of hardwood timber, principally 
of the several varieties of oak, the utility of which 
for fuel, fence posts, etc., is apparent. Three 
railroads and three county roads pass through 
Meadowbrook, and it is perfectly drained by Buf- 
falo Bayou, one of the important waterways of 
Texas, passing through the tract from the west to 
the east. Two railroad stations, with side-track and 
other shipping facilities, are already situated on 
Meadowbrook and arrangements are well under the 
way for the third. 

This large body of land has been divided into 
farms of 160 acres each, and graded roads are being 
constructed along the section lines, at right angles 
to Buffalo liayou, thus affording each quarter section 
the double purpose of an outlet to the railroads and 
county roads as well as drainage to the Bayou. The 
main road from Houston has been graded and grav- 
eled to within nine miles of Meadowbrook and will 
be completed in the near future. 

Fruits of nearly every variety, both large and small, 
all kinds of vegetables, and the great staples of col- 
ton, corn, oats, sugar and hay give the most grati- 
fying results at Sleadowbrook. Improved farms 



surrounding this tract show positive evidence as to 
what can be produced and it has been placed on the 
market at prices and terms, that, together with its 
general conditions, invite comparison with any other 
lands in that most favored portion of these United 
States. 

V^d^'%tA^t%A ^^^ town of Pearland, fifteen miles 
ICr^ariana ^^^^^ ^f Houston, on the Gulf, Colo- 
rado & Santa Fe Railway, is the center of a splendid 
country. The town-site has been laid off on a mod- 
ern plan, with boulevards and broad streets, reserv- 
ing locations for churches and parks. It is expected 
to build up here a model community. Pearland is 
surrounded by thousands of acres of the finest prai- 
rie land, nearly every acre of which is suited to fruit, 
vegetable and general farming. Ten thousand acres 
of the land immediately surrounding Pearland have 
been sub-divided into ten, twenty and forty-acre 
tracts, which are being sold at $15 to $25 per acre, 
one-third cash, the balance in one and two years. 
Each tract will front a broad, graded road. 

Pearland is now a thriving village of 300 inhabi- 
tants. It has schools and churches and is surrounded 
by a desirable class of citizens who are engaged in 
fruit-raising and general farming. Considering age, 
Pearland can show one of the finest pear orchards 
along the coast. 

Xa^iyYr%t>Y%A r^ichmond is the countv seat of 
IVlCniTl^TICl Port Bend County. It is a pros- 
perous and enterprising town, containing about 1,500 
people. Its location on the west bank of the Brazos 
River, within a short distance of the Falls of the 
Brazos, will give it, when the 3,000 horse power 
there is fully developed, a commanding position as 
a manufacturing center. 

Richmond is not only a pleasant place in which to 
live, but it is a good place to do business in. Al- 
ready the town possesses water works, an electric 
light plant, bank, three railroads, a telephone ex- 
change, two cotton gins and a grist mill. One nota- 
ble feature is an immigrant house, where any per- 
son who has bought land in the county or who 
deposits a certain amount of money in bank is 
granted free house rent for a month or so in order 
to make ready for the occupancy of his new home. 



Not content with beinj^ in the center of a mag- 
niticent agricultural country, Richmond is reaching 
out for various enterprises and affords excellent op- 
portunities for the location of manufactories based 
on cotton, timber and sugar. 

RrtQi^nh^ftf Rosenberg is very favorably sit- 
IVOlJtnPttl a uated in Fort Bend County, at 
the junction of the main lines of the Clulf, Colorado 
& Santa Fe Railway and Southern Pacific Co. It 
is also the northern terminus of the New York, 
Texas & Mexican Railway, and the Rosenberg, 
Damon Mound & Gulf Railroad. It lies 66 miles 
north of Galveston and 36 miles west of Houston; 
contains 750 inhabitants (mainly from northern 
states) and is the natural trade center of a rich 
country. This outlying territory consists of say 
400 sections of high prairie lands and rich river 
bottoms where, without fertilizing, the average crops 
are forty bushels of corn, seventy bushels of oats, 
three tons of millet hay and one bale of cotton per 
acre. All kinds of fruits — except apples — are raised 
here, as well as all varieties of vegetables. 

The Brazos River bottoms contain great forests 
of oak, ash and other hard woods, interspersed with 
magnificent plantations where corn, cotton and 
sugar cane grow luxuriantly. Desirable farming 
lands lying within a radius of three to eight miles 
from town command $8 to $25 per acre. Taxes 
are low, about $1 per hundred on a 40% valuation. 

Rosenberg has several church societies and fine 
school buildings. Being 132 feet above sea level 
and 40 feet above the Brazos, good drainage and 
consequent good health is assured. Excellent 
water is obtainable at convenient depths. 

Its location in the midst of forests of red and 
white cedar, cypress, ash, etc., makes Rosenberg a 
desirable place for the manufacture of woolen goods. 
A canning factory would also do well here. The 
transportation facilities above mentioned give this 
town manifest advantages as a distributing point. 
Persons desiring further information should address 
( ieo. 1^>. Lang, Secretary Progressive Association, 
Rosenberg, Texas. 

^1^ The thriving town of Sealy is situated fifty 
OvAiy miles west of Houston and ninety-five 
miles northwest of Galveston at the junction of the 



Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway and the Mis- 
souri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, and has a popula- 
tion of about 1,500. It is the first division on the 
Santa Fe line out of Galveston, with a round-house 
and other necessary improvements. 

The town is situated on a slight elevation above 
the surrounding- country, just at the beginning of the 
rolling land adjacent to the coast country proper, 
thereby having excellent natural drainage and splen- 
did water, and is one of the healthiest places in 
South Texas. The Brazos River is five miles dis- 
tant. Sealy possesses a first-class public school 
system and churches of the various denominations. 

The citizens liberally support a weekly newspaper, 
and the town boasts of a tannery, harness and saddle 
manufactory, a mattress factory, also two of the 
finest steam cotton gins in this part of the country, 
one of them having just lately been purchased to be 
put in operation this summer. A complete electric 
plant of 700 light capacity is building. A commo- 
dious opera house and public amusement hall, five 
first-class hotels, besides numerous business edifices, 
complete the list of principal buildings. 

In addition to the magnificent resources of Austin 
County elsewhere briefly alluded to, it may be said 
that the excellent railroad facilities at Sealy make the 
raising of canteloupes and watermelons one of the 
leading industries of the region. About 500 acres 
of melons will be marketed at Sealy this year to be 
shipped north. The value of adjacent farming lands 
varies from $5 to $40 per acre. 

OUPC1*IOI* Lies thirty-three miles from Galves- 
ton, twenty miles from Houston, and 
begins just two miles north of Alvin, on the Houston 
branch of the Santa Fe, with eight daily passenger 
trains. This is a new town located upon a tract of 
10,000 acres of land purchased by the Southern 
Homestead Company of Houston, and characterized 
as the finest large body of land along the Gulf Coast. 
It is in the center of the newly developed fruit and 
vegetable belt and is being highly improved with 
finely graded roads and ample ditches. Many set- 
tlers have located at this place. 

Od^UtS The thrifty iown of Wallis (population 

500) is located in Austin County, at the 

junction of the San Antonio eK: Aransas Pass Railway 



with the C.ulf, C'oloratlo c\; Santa Fe Railway, 
eighty-two miles north of Galveston and forty-five 
miles west of Houston. Its twenty business houses 
carry large stocks of goods and it has a wide-awake 
newspaper. Educational and social advantages are 
as advanced as those of any like settlement in South- 
ern Texas. Railroad facilities are unusually good. 

Austin County is briefly described under another 
caption. A few additional facts pertaining especially 
to the territory surrounding Wallis will be of interest. 
The lands between the Hrazos and San Bernard Riv- 
ers are of inexhaustible fertility, being as rich now 
as when first cultivated forty years ago. The prairie 
lands are worth $5 to $20 per acre; bottom lands, 
$10 to $30. 

Cotton is a crop that never fails. In 1S97 Wallis 
marketed 5,000 bales. In a good season the output 
is about 8,000 bales. Corn averages 40 to 60 bush- 
els to the acre. Vegetables and small fruits are suc- 
cessfully raised. The country around Wallis is in- 
habited to a considerable extent by Germans, who 
with their customary industry have made valuable 
improvements. Homeseekers who prefer to get back 
from the Coast and at the same time have the bene- 
fit of the Gulf breezes, should investigate the claims 
of Wallis and vicinity. 

SI^bAfr^l* ^^^ colony of Webster, Harris 
\V»WOt«-l (^Qjjj^ty^ Texas, is located on a tract 
of about 5,000 acres of land midway between Hous- 
ton and Galveston, on the line of the Galveston, 
Houston & Henderson Railroad, over which also 
operates two other lines, thus practically affording 
it the advantages of three railroads. It has a depot, 
side-track and other ample shipping facilities. Popu- 
lation about 300. 

This is a magnificent body of black prairie land, 
perfectly drained, and is in the midst of the great 
fruit and vegetable district of South Texas. Well 
developed farms in and surrounding Webster evi- 
dence its great productiveness. Clear Lake, a navi- 
gable stream and tributary of (ialveston Bay, directly 
adjoins this land and its settlers have all the advan- 
tages of water competition. Real estate at \\'el)ster 
will be sold in tracts to suit the purchaser and at 
very reasonable prices and terms, considering the 
location. 

This year more than 400 acres around Webster 



are planted in nutmeg melons — the Rocky Ford va- 
riety — and the entire crop contracted in advance. 

^JJ|^3^|*^^f| Rosenberg station, on the Gulf, Col- 
orado & Santa Fe Railway, is the 
most convenient point of departure for a large section 
of country to the southwest. After passing through 
Fort Bend County, the next one is Wharton, dubbed 
by its enthusiastic inhabitants the banner county of 
the coast country. It is in the second tier back from 
the Gulf. The county is watered by Peach, Jones, 
Sandies and Mustang creeks, also the Bernard and 
Colorado Rivers. Wharton contains 1,172 square 
miles, a princely domain of 718,000 acres, three- 
eighths woodland and five-eighihs open country; sur- 
face is level, divided equally between prairie and 
woodland; soil is alluvial and adapted to almost 
everything that grows in the south. Along the Colo- 
rado River especially the soil is of great depth. 
On the water courses there is a sufficiency of tim- 
ber lor firewood. Railroad facilities are excellent, 
the county being traversed by three lines. The 
average annual yield in Wharton County is 20,000 
bales of cotton, 200,000 bushels of corn, 20,000 
bushels of Irish potatoes, over 10,000 bushels of 
sweet potatoes, 20 cars of pecans, etc. Being in 
the fruit belt, everything of that kind does well 
here. Unimproved lands bring $5 to $15 per acre; 
improved, $15 to $30. 

The town of Wharton, county seat, stands on the 

east bank of the 
Colorado River, 
50 miles from the 
coast. It is the 
principal distri- 
buting point for 
Wharton and 
Matagorda coun- 
ties. Present po- 
pulation, 2,000. 
Its business 
establishments 
have a heavy 
trade,and the so- 
cial and educa- 
tional advanta- 
ges of the town 
have kept pace 
with its indus- 
trial growth. 




BOOTHS ORCHARD. CLEAR CREEK. 



)VIcniionite Colonies 

• • • 

The present exodus of Mennonites from various 
northern states to Southern Texas is in many respects 
a remarkable movement. Nothing like it has been 
witnessed for many years. 

These Mennonites are a thrifty people, noted as 
home-builders. By hard work, prudence and fore- 
sight they have made a success of nearly all their 
undertakings. It seems to be their mission to be 
pioneers of farming industry. 

They are an exceptional race. Piety and practical 
affairs go hand in hand While fearing God they do 
not fear Nature. No unfavorable combination of 
soil or climate or circumstances has ever routed them. 
They may leave one locality for another, but the 
migration is based on other grounds than failure at 
home. Each change is a step forward. 

They are withal shrewd buyers, investigating care- 
fully before pulling up stakes and starting anew. So 
well known is their sagacity in this respect that keen 
competition exists among holders of large bodies of 
raw lands whenever it is known that a new Mennon- 
ite enterprise is to be launched. It is a compliment 
to the resources of any country to be selected by the 
Mennonites for colonizing purposes, because by ex- 
perience they have learned what good land is and 
will have no other. 

Mr. W. B. Slosson, of Houston, Texas, who is at 
present the authorized general agent for the Men- 
nonite colonies at Ft. Bend, Thompson or Menno 
Citv, Westfield and Brookshire, v.as instrumental in 
bringing down to the Texas Gulf Coast more than 
a thousand Mennonites during the fall of 1897. 
More than 400 have already located and many 
others are coming in from far away Oregon, South 
Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa, as well as from 
Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Northern Texas. 
Mr. Slosson has acted in conjunction with a Commit- 
tee of I'^leven, many of them Mennonite preachers 
and all men of inlluence. The Santa Fe Route was 
unanimously chosen by them as the "official line" for 
transportation of settlers and goods, thereby further 

55 



cementing a friendship which began when the Santa 
Fe brought the Mennonites over from Russia to 
America many years ago. 

The question may be asked: Why are these people 
leaving their northern homes and coming so far 
south? An important reason is that the good cheap 
lands of the Middle West are almost gone and the 
tide of immigration must seek other outlets. One 
of these outlets is towards Southern Texas. For 
years the coast region was owned and controlled by 
cattle men; they did not want their great pastures 
cut up into small holdings. That day has passed, 
and they are inviting rather than repelling the advent 
of the farmer and fruit-raiser. 

Another factor is found in the movement for deep- 
water harbors at Galveston, Houston and other 
points on the Texas coast, permitting the immense 
surplus crops of the northwest and southwest to be 
more easily and profitably marketed than heretofore. 
This has widely advertised Southern Texas. 

Other reasons, as detailed by the committee in 
their literature, may be brietiy summed up in the 
items of " a healthy climate, good water, excellent 
markets, no blizzards, sufficient rainfall, low taxes, 
cheap freight rates, cool (iulf breezes in summer, 
scarcely any winter, fruit culture successful, a diver- 
sity of crops possible, more than one crop a year 
obtainable in some instances, friendly neighbors, and 
an opportunity to build up a prosperous community 
of those holding the same faith and swayed by like 
traditions. Probably the three most important ele- 
ments are cheap lands, large crops and a pleasant 
winter climate." 

While a few of this industrious people have for 
family reasons gone back lo their former homes, 
nearly all are on their farms making substantial 
improvements, setting out orchards and raising 
vegetables in every month of the year. They also 
have good schools and churches established and 
both well supported. The Mennonites of Texas 
are already an important factor of the church, and 
during the past year they have received ministers 
and delegates from northern churches who are 
looking Texasward for other colony locations. 

|2m>^^^|«q1%||*^ a promising settlement has been 
*:7rWKOl7ii %r started at Brookshire, thirty-five 
miles west of Houston, where good prairie lands may 

56 



be obtained at prices varying; from $5 to $8 an acre. 
About 6,500 acres have been secured. Hon. Fred. 
Harpster is in charge locally. 

^ ^ ry J 1'he first colony located by the 
/ OI*t OvIlCl Mennonites was in P'ort Bend 
r^rtlrtflt) >? County, seven miles south of Rich- 
Vi'W^lV'liy r^ mond and Rosenberg, on the Gulf, 
Colorado & Santa Fe Railway. Nearly 5,000 acres 
of black " hog-wallow" lands were bought for $to 
per acre on favorable terms. More than forty fami- 
lies have already settled here and every week adds 
to their number. New houses have been built, the 
prairie broken, orchards planted, wells dug, and 
other improvements made. Schools, churches and 
store-buildings have been built and the success of 
the colony is assured. 

During the twelve months succeeding the location 
of this colony many valuable improvements have 
been made. Farms of from 50 to no acres have 
been broken and planted to cotton, corn, vegetables, 
fruit, etc. Commodious houses have been erected 
and painted, and as every man's farm has both tim- 
ber and water on the back end of it, and the resi- 
dences are located centrally on Church and Concord 
Avenues, the scene in this thriving colony is an in- 
teresting one. 

^ " 4. 4^ ^A The second Mennonite Col- 
f-airDanilS ana ony was located at Fairbanks 

"^K/A^M^^Q^^tt J* ^"^ Thonipson Station, 

\^nOTnpOOn ^r ^^^^^^^^^ ^-^^^ northwest of 

Houston in Harris County, on the Houston & Texas 
Central Railroad. A paved road is now completed 
from Houston nearly to Fairbanks, and will go be- 
yond Thompson during the next year. This gives 
first-class facilities to drive with fruits and vegetables 
to a good market. Henry Lutkerman, a Kansas Men- 
nonite, who came to Texas one year ago, has just 
completed a delivery of 450 bushels of sweet pota- 
toes to the Houston market, raised on new ground. 
He also has a fine orchard started and has supported 
his family from other vegetables, eggs and chickens 
during his first year. He is enthusiastic over his 
prospects in his Southern home. 

About 3,000 acres of good black-sandy loam lands 
have been purchased, and over forty families already 
located. It is expected tliat a hundred additional 

57 



families will follow soon. Several thousand acres 
more can be secured when needed. Prices range 
from $4. 50 to $7. 50 per acre. This is prairie land, 
with plenty of timber. 

Water is found at a depth of 1 5 to 30 feet. There 
is a fine road direct to the city of Houston. A saw 
mill and planing mill have been erected, and lumber 
can be obtained for $5 to $7 a thousand feet. 

dCStf icld ^^^ Westfield Colony was started 
by 115 persons who came in one 
party from Colorado. Members have since been re- 
ceived from several other states. The colony shows 
the effect of working together to a common end, for 
already extensive improvements have been made or 
are under way. Westfield is sixteen miles north of 
Houston, Harris County, on the International & 
Great Northern Railroad. A macadamized road 
connects the village with Houston. Several thou- 
sand acres of good black-sandy prairie land have 
been reserved, for sale at $5 to $6.50 per acre on 
terms to suit. Many of the old settlers in this lo- 
cality are of German descent, having accumulated 
considerable of this world's goods. Schools and 
churches are within easy access. Rev. Henry Berg- 
thold is the local agent. 




HOUSTON HIGH .SCHOOL. 



X^cstimony of farmers 
• • • 

It is one thing- to g-eneralize; quite a different affair 
to state particular facts. One may fluently speak 
in an impersonal way and general terms of the glo- 
rious empire state of Texas. Such adjectives may 
mean much or little. To prepare a statement of what 
has been accomplished on your own tract of land, 
with conclusions drawn from personal experience, 
requires scientific accuracy. An imaginative dis- 
course will not pass muster. 

bearing this in mind, and in order that the situa- 
tion in Texas might be fairly presented to outsiders, 
we have asked several farmers and fruit-raisers to 
tell herein their own story of success or failure, for 
the guidance of others. What they say, follows: 

Rev. Dcnry Bcrgtbold Rev. Henry Berg- 

thold, of Westfield, 
Texas, formerly of Colorado, is evidently well 
pleased with his Texas venture, as may be seen from 
the following letter written by him in 1898: 

*' I came here from Colorado, and was a member 
of the first committee sent out to locate Mennonite 
colonies. My report being favorable a large party 
of us left Colorado and settled here. I had been in 
several Western States looking for a location and 
felt the great responsibility in selecting a home for 
my family and friends. We are now in Harris 
County, Texas, 16 miles north of Houston, which 
is our market. Although having settled here only a 
few months ago. we are doing what we started out 
to do — getting homes. Lumber being cheap, we 
soon had our houses built. Now we are breaking 
prairie and planting our gardens and orchards. 

" I never saw a country where people can live so 
cheaply as soon as they get started. We have Ger- 
man neighbors here who have got a better start in 
one year than they could in five years in Colorado. 

" Not for a single moment have I ever regretted 
coming to this Coast Country, and it looks now as 
though we. and those of our peopie who are now 
coming to the Westfield colony, would all own lands 
and homes of our own in a short time." 



Rev. Bergthold reports, after a year's trial, that 
he is in good health and very hopeful for the future. 



R» f). Busbway ^r. R. H. Bushway, 
vin, 1 exas, contnbu 



of Al- 
contributes the 
following statement, under date of January 13, 1898: 

" My native state is Illinois. I came to the Coast 
Country of Texas six years ago, since which time I 
have been continuously identified with the fruit indus- 
try. For the last four years my time has been de- 
voted to the nursery business as founder and mana- 
ger of the Alvin Nursery Co. Our grounds occupy 
forty acres of land, situated two and one-half miles 
from the city of Alvin. Ten acres of this land is in 
bearing pear orchard, ten acres in an orchard two 
years old, and twenty acres now being put into cul- 
tivation. Besides the above, we have fourteen acres 
under lease, mostly planted in strawberries and nurs- 
ery stock. Aside from the nursery our only commer- 
cial crop is strawberries, which have proven extremely 
profitable when properly grown and marketed. 

" The following statement taken from our books 
for i8g6 shows results obtained: 

Number of 24-quart crates shipped from 7 acres.. .512 

Total receipts .....$1,217.00 

Cost of 572 crates, at 18c $ 92.16 

Cost of picking, at 60c. per crate ... 309.60 

Nails, expenses, labor, etc 20.00 421.76 

Net proceeds of 7 acres S 795.24 

" Our berries are grown on black land without fer- 
tilizer of any kind, and by the system employed one 
man and team can plant and attend fifteen acres. 
By good cultivation and liberal application of com- 
mercial fertilizers, the above results can be increased 
threefold. 

'• In our six years' experience we have never had 
a crop failure, and only once a partial failure — even 
then good strawberry beds net their owners nearly 
$100 per acre. Such land as our berries are grown 
on can be bought in ten-acre blocks at from $15 to 
$30 per acre. 

"While a large quantity of our products find a 
ready sale at good prices in the state, by far the 
greater percentage is sliipped direct to the North, 
where the demand for our early berries and vegeta- 
bles is only limited by our ability to produce. Almost 
our entire crop is shipped by express; however we 

60 



that it will warrant a through freight service to such 
important points as Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas 
City, thereby reducing the cost of transportation to 
a minimum. We have been very successful in ob- 
taining fancy prices for our early berries from north- 
ern markets and consider this outlet for our products 
practically unlimited, as we are fully three weeks 
earlier than our competitors. 

"After six years of practical experience we have 
no hesitancy in affirming that every dollar intelli- 
gently invested in fruit growing in the Texas Coast 
Country will return three times the interest of the 
same amount invested in cotton or grain farming, 
proportionately to the capital put in. 

" In regard to health will say that I came here 
badly affected with nasal catarrh and at the end of 
three years every symptom was gone, and nowhere 
does the general health appear so good. 

" To the intelligent, industrious man or woman 
seeking to better their condition and acquire a home, 
the Texas Coast Country offers inducements not 
equalled by any other section — and to such is ac- 
corded a hearty welcome." 

Under date of May i8, 1899, Mr. Bushway 
contributes the following additional data : 

"The season just past has been the most 
prosperous financially that I have experienced 
during my seven years' residence in Alvin. As 
manager of the Alvin Nursery Company I am 
brought into personal contact with every section of 
what is properly known as the Gulf Coast Country, 
and especially am I familiar with that section 
adjacent to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Rail- 
way. Through increased production, not only have 
our people been able to secure a lower rate and 
better service, but the high quality of our goods 
has attracted buyers from all of the principal cities 
of the North. This has resulted in the sale of our 
produce at the depot, and eliminated the element of 
risk subsecjuent on consignment shipments. 

"The sums realized this spring from some of 
our fruit and truck farms has been so large as to 
seem almost incredible. To cite a case in point, I 
refer to the experience of Mr. Otto Hoefs, a farmer 
living four miles south of Alvin. Up to April 25th 
he had realized from five acres of strawberries 
$i,6go, and the season not nearly over. For six 
consecutive davs he sold for cash on the streets of 




A HILL OF STRAWBERRIES IN MARCH. 

Alvin from this patch over $ioo worth of berries 
per day. This is only one case; similar results 
from the same crop and also from other crops are 
common. 

"Just at present every indication points to a 
rapid growth in population and an early advance in 
the price of land. While to-day the finest kind of 
land may be obtained at from $io to $50 per acre, 
depending on location, this cannot last long, as the 
eyes of the homeseeker, the speculator and the 
investor have been attracted to the Coast Country. 
A case in point is that of the American Pear Com- 
pany. Organized under the laws of Missouri and 
incorporated with a capital of $32,000, they have 
purchased a section of land close to Alvin of the 
Santa Fe Land and Improvement Company, and 
are planting the entire tract to Le Contc and Keiffer 
pears. Ten thousand trees are already set and grow- 
ing, qnd the balance, 43,000 will be set this coming 
winter. 

"Mr. W. E. Wagoman, president and general 
manager, is a thorough orchardist, having had years 
of practical experience in California. Mr. Wago- 
man, upon his first trip to the Coast Country, easily 
detected the superior advantages we possess of a low 
rate and short haul to the great markets of the 
United States. 

"Another party now in Alvin is looking for a sec- 
tion of land to plant pears." 



rf* R ' ' U ^^^- Ileinrichs visited the 

rranS ncmricna (^-oast country several times 
and assisted in locating the first three colonies. He 
is a representative Mennonite; has bought and is im- 
proving 310 acres of land in the Fort Bend Colony; 
prefers South Texas to Kansas, because he finds 
here copious rainfall, no blizzards, scarcely any win- 
ter, a healthy climate and pure water. 

"I think it is a good place for poor people," 
writes Mr. Heinrichs, "as vegetables can be raised 
every month in the year and the cattle and sheep 
business pays well, with free range. 

"A friend of mine who came here from South 
Dakota with weak lungs is now well. He could not 
walk a quarter of a mile up north, but took a stroll 
of three miles here with me last month. 

"With good markets and low-priced land, close 
to deep water ports at Houston and Galveston, we 
are bound to make money. Our Mennonite people 
like this country and more are coming." 

The author of the above letter has to show for his 
first year's work three houses on a 300 acre farm in 
Ft. Bend Colony, of which more than 100 acres are 
under plow. He is closing out his Kansas farms to 
invest in sunny Texas. 

/ly jwj fs-ii " I came to Texas from middle 

JC99C \U. niU Tennessee," writes Mr. Jesse 
\V. Hill, of Areola, Tex. "My farm is situated two 
and one-half miles northeast of Areola. It consists 
of 160 acres of black-sandy and black-waxy soil. 
The line of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Ry. is 
two miles away. Eighty-five acres are in cotton, 
corn, oats, potatoes and strawberries, with a little 
corn and peanuts. Cotton is the staple crop, 
although potatoes, oats and strawberries do well. 
I have three or four hundred fruit trees, all growing. 
Had a partial failure once with corn, account drouth. 
" By economy some profit can be realized. Mar- 
kets are fairly good. I can sell everything I raise 
at living prices. Have not shipped any vegetables. 
The general health of the country is good. My 
family has had comparatively little sickness. Our 
health has been better here than for fifteen years 
past in other localities. Capacity for work is almost 
unlimited. I would recommend our country to any 
man who has enough means to improve his farm 
and pay expenses f(jr a year." 




ibXAb COAST FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION, HOUSTON. 



'3tIO» F)^ KlaaaSCn 'I'lie following letter is from 
Mr. Jno. P. Klaassen, once 
a resident of Lehigh, Kansas, now living in Texas. 
He was one of the committee appointed by the Men- 
nonites to locate their Texas colonies and has care- 
fully inspected the Coast Country. Mr. Klaassen 
says : 

" I was one of the Committee of Eleven that loca- 
ted the first three colonies in Texas and am sure I 
did the best work of my life in starting a movement 
of our Mennonite people in this direction. Several 
of our committee visited and inspected the Coast 
Country, and in September, 1S97, we located the 
first three colonies. 

" December iS, 1897, I brought my family and 
a car of goods over the Santa Fe Route to my 300- 
acre place in the Fort Bend Colony; this was thirty 
days ago, and already I have erected a house, two 
sheds and chicken-houses, have 160 acres fenced-in, 
two wells dug (30 feet deep each), 40 acres broken 
and am ready to put out an orchard and garden; will 
break this year 100 acres more. 

" Horses, mules, young cattle and sheep all do 
well here, but it is not best to bring old cows. We 
have good health. My wife and children are pleased 
— no more drouths and blizzards for us. 

" I am glad that this movement of our people to 
Texasls taking such a wide range, covering not only 
the northwestern states, but Oregon and Manitoba, 
and recent correspondence from Russia goes to show 
that it is becoming a matter of interest in other 
countries as well — but there is plenty of room in 
Texas and cheap lands; let them come." 

Mr. Klaassen has tried Texas one year since the 
above was written. He has a large neatly painted 
two-story house, barns, wells, orchard, and 150 acres 
plowed up. Write to him at Richmond, Texas, for 
his opinion of the Coast Country. 

oU I^atKll*Cth Mr. Eli Landreth resides a quar- 
ter of a mile from Pearland sta- 
tion. He came to Texas from Iowa two years ago. 
His farm is a large one, consisting of 269 acres. 
Ninety acres are in cultivation, the main crops being 
oats, cotton, corn and sweet potatoes. Mr, Land- 
reth reports that his crop of oats is more valuable 
than any other crop, while sweet potatoes exceed 

65 



the others in quantity raised. He has not had much 
experience with fruit. Mr. Landreth is fortunate in 
being able to say that he has never had either a 
partial or complete failure of any crop, which per- 
haps accounts for the fact that averaging one year 
with another, his farm has paid a good profit on the 
investment. 

In common with other residents of the Coast 
Country, he finds that school and church privileges 
and social advantages are all that could be desired, 
while the cost ot living is cheaper than in the north- 
ern states. 

The home market consumes the entire product of 
his land, and prices, as a rule, are good. 

To quote Mr. Landreth: " I consider Southern 
Texas a very healthy country. Myself and family 
have enjoyed better health since coming here than 
for a number of years in Iowa. Had throat trouble 
in Iowa and am almost free from it now. Would 
recommend this section for persons of small means 
if they are willing to hustle. The chances of ac- 
quiring a competence with limited capital are far 
better than in any of the northern states." 

^ Lctnind ^^^' ^' Leming is one of the small 
*^ landowners at Alta Loma, Tex., 
coming here from Nebraska two years ago. His 
fourteen acres of ground is one-quarter of a mile 
from the station. Twelve acres are under cultiva- 
tion; about one-half set to trees and grape vines, with 
an acre of asparagus. His orchard has not begun 
to bear yet. Mr. Leming reports that a slight freeze 
damaged his cauliflowers last November, otherwise 
crops have been successful. So far his little farm 
has not become a dividend producer; but he makes 
a living off of it. Taxes reasonable; schools fair. 
Home market does not consume all that he raises. 
Has shipped long distances by express and sold at 
good prices, but profits were considerably reduced 
by the transportation charges. Shipments by freight 
were a losing venture. 

The general health of Mr. Leming has improved 
since coming to Alta Loma, and he can work with 
more comfort than in the North, except for a few 
days in midsummer, when the wind blows off the 
land. Finally, Mr. Leming advises that new set- 
tlers coming here should bring with them enough 
means to keep them for a year or two until the land 
can be brought into a proper state of cultivation. 

66 



O* p. Martin TH^ SiS-acre ranch of Mr. O. 
r. Martin, tour miles from 
Pearland, has not yet been entirely opened up to 
cultivation. He now has So acres planted to cotton, 
corn, potatoes, peanuts and garden truck. Oats 
and hay are his most valuable crops. Mr, Martin 
has not yet engaged in fruitraising, has never had 
a failure and his products always yield a fair profit. 
He finds good local demand for everything he wishes 
to market. 

"A person of small means," writes Mr. Martin, 
" can secure a home in this section easier than any 
other place I know of. Have never had better health 
than since comin^y to Pearland, With a family of 
seven, have not had any need for a doctor in four 
years. For a fine climate and pleasant home it can't 
be beat. Have never regretted leaving the snow 
banks of old Iowa for this ideal section of the sunny 
South." 




A CAPE JESSAMINE FIELD OF TWENTY ACRES. 

Hai*011 Peters ^^- Aaron Peters, of Fort Bend, 
Tex,, a member of the Mennon- 
ite Church from South Dakota, bought 205 acres of 
good land at $10 an acre in the Fort Bend Colony, 
hach loo-acre tract has timber and water on the 
back end of it. He has already built a house and sta- 
ble, at less than half what they would cost in Dako- 
ta, He has plowed his lands for trees and has a 
nice orchard set out. 

67 



Mr. Peters' family has had good health since com- 
ing to Texas nineteen months ago, and a great many 
of his old friends and neighbors are coming down 
this year to share the pleasant climate with him. He 
occasionally takes a trip over the Santa Fe to his 
former home in South Dakota to tell his friends how 
much better sunshiny Texas is with its mild winters. 
He pertinently inquires why his Mennonite brethren 
should stay north, where what is raised during one- 
half of the year is used in feeding for the other half. 

8. N* Richardson Mr. S. N. Richardson 
came to Alvin, Texas, from 
North Carolina eighteen years ago, being one of the 
first settlers on an unbroken prairie, without a house 
in sight from Galveston to the Brazos, except a 
small settlement at Hitchcock. He owns twenty 
acres of sandy loam land within two blocks of the 
Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe depot at Alvin. He 
raises pears, strawberries, peaches, plums and 
other fruits, flowers, corn, oats, garden vegetables 
and nursery stock. Pears, after they begin to bear 
well, are his best crop, running 500 bushels to the 
acre and increasing in quantity after the trees are 
eight years old; average price to date more than a 
dollar per bushel net. Cape jessamine flowers and 
plants are also leaders with him and pay well. Can 
grow 40 to 50 bushels of corn to the acre, and vege- 
tables ad libitum. 

He was one of the first to put cape jessamine 
flowers on sale; from small beginnings a few years 
ago this business has grown until the fragrant buds 
now bring in thousands of dollars yearly to growers; 
Maj. G. W. Durant is the largest jessamine grower 
at Alvin and perhaps in the United States, having 
twelve acres with daily output often exceeding 40,000 
buds, which sell at 50 cents per hundred. 

Mr. Richardson's pear orchard is twelve years old, 
and he has had no trouble thus far in disposing of 
product. Has also grown strawberries since 1882, 
with fine returns, crops being sure and sale certain, 
yielding $150 to $500 an acre. Peaches and plums 
have not been so profitable. Grapes have yielded 
fair returns. He thinks the Japan persimmon and 
fig are the coming fruits of this section. There has 
never been a complete failure, and never less than 
half a crop has been Iiarvested. Blackberries and 
dewberries do well. 



Prices of vegetables depend on the time of mar- 
keting. By getting in early, satisfactorj' prices may 
be realized. Crops must be planted to mature be- 
fore competition of interior points is felt. If a man 
is awake to opportunities and takes advantage of 
them, he will make money — anywhere from $50 to 
Si 50 per acre. Planting season lasts for the whole 
year. Cabbages, beans, peas and tomatoes are the 
leading crops, followed by Irish potatoes and sweet 
potatoes. There is a succession of orchard, garden 
and field crops from January to December. 

State and county taxes are $1.10 per $100 valua- 
tion. School and church privileges are good. Alvin 
and the adjoining country neighborhoods have excel- 
lent educational and religious facilities. 

The home market takes some produce, but bulk of 
it is sliipped north. Mr. Richardson says he has 
shipped fruit and vegetables as far as Chicago and 
Denver by express with good success. Shippers are 
now mostly using fast freight in carload lots. He 
thinks a foreign market for fresh pears will soon be 
a necessity, unless facilities are afforded for evapora- 
ting or otherwise disposing of the large product. 

" I came here for health," says this gentleman, 
" and have had it. There is no climatic disease and 
a man can work the year round. Strangers do not 
have to become acclimated, being as free from sick- 
ness as the old settlers. Persons suffering with lung 
and throat troubles are either greatly benefited or 
cured. This is a fine country for a rustler, but a 
lazy man is not at home here, for to succeed at the 
truck and fruit business requires energy and brains. 
Many men of small means have settled here and 
succeeded and there is room for more. I am satis- 
fied that this is the best portion of the South. Here 
men with small capital can soon acquire a compe- 
tence by industry combined with good judgment." 

77T f\ fk^vM^ka ^'^''- ^^ • ^^- 1'homas, of Alta 
^*** 17» C/HOmaO I oj^^^ ^y^^ owns one of the 

largest farms in the vicinity, consisting of over 50 

acres sandy loam. He came from Colorado three 

years ago and located one mile southeast of Alta 

Loma. Forty-five acres are under cultivation and 

set to an orchard of pears and plums, with some 

grapes. The best crop in quantity is sweet potatoes; 

in value, corn and peanuts. 

Mr. Thomas has not raised much fruit as yet. 



While there has been a partial failure in some of the 
crops, it was not complete. Prices are fair, and he 
is satisfied with his investment so far. Home mar- 
ket does not consume all that can be raised. Ship- 
ments of vegetables to Colorado have brought mod- 
erate returns, with better prospects for the future^ 

"I think the climate here in the Coast Country 
is No. I," says Mr. Thomas. "Have found noth- 
ing to prevent one from continuous work. Further, 
I believe that settlers with funds enough to get a 
start, can with industry do very well here, providing 
their home experience has been along the line of 
raising small fruits and vegetables." 

T f\ T'vAXi^V The following interesting letter 
U.. !/♦ K^rvyKt ^^^^ ^j^^ ^ ^ Troyer, of Fair- 

banks, Tex., a member of the Mennonite church, 
formerly of Missouri, but for over two years a resi- 
of Harris County, gives briefly his experience in 
the Coast Country, and his reasons for leaving the 
North. The communication is dated January ii, 
1898: 

" I removed from Cedar County, Mo, to the Coast 
Country of Texas, for the reason that my wife was 
told by her physicians that she must seek a better 
climate, or die. I also had been afflicted with 
catarrh for several years. We came to this Coast 
Country two years and a half ago. Today my wife 
is a well woman and I am entirely cured of 
catarrh. No money could induce us to go back 
to the North to live, as the climate, good health and 
a new prosperous country, growing rapidly, holds 
out great inducements to me. 

" I want to say that this healthy climate, with its 
ocean breezes, and the 
good water found 
everywhere, has given 
us both a new lease of 
life, and several of my 
neighbors have come 
here and are equally 
well pleased. 

"The Mennonites, 
who have already loca- 
ted five colonies in the 
vicinity of Houston, 
have made no mistake 
in this removal, nor in 




STEM OF KEIFER PEARS. 



70 




COTTON EXCHANGE, HOUSTON. 

selecting the Santa Fe as the official route. With 
the deep water ports just opened, and immigration 
from the North steadily increasing, the good lands 
and rich soil of South Texas will make our indus- 
trious, Mennonite church people, not only a good 
living, but a competence, and at the prices land 
has been bought for them there it hardly a question 
but that it will double in value within the next two 
years Their investments here in lands are so much 
less, while their profits are so much greater (on ac- 
count of being near marke'ts and deep water ports) 
than in the North, .that they will continue to be as 
they now are, entirely satisfied with the change. 

" Another point which I deem important: Vege- 
tables, melons, fruits, as well as grains, (all of which 
do well here) should be shipped in carload lots, and 
our people grouped together as they are, can arrange 
to plant so as to ship in that way and receive the lar- 
gest amount of profits from their labors. They can 
raise in the late fall onions, cabbage, celery, potatoes, 
cauliflower and other vegetables, so as to ship them 
North in carloads early in the spring, where they will 
find a bare market. Then, in the late summer, another 
crop for the late winter shipment to the North. In 
this way they will make it extremely profitable. Our 
Mennonite people will raise a large acreage of 
melons this year on the sod. 

*' These dark sandy loam lands around the city of 
Houston, are rapidly being settled up, and I can 
assure my Mennonite friends of a warm welcome.** 
71 



pear Orchards 




• • • 

UCH is the importance cf the 
pear industry of the Gulf Coast 
of Texas, that a special article 
is devoted to that topic. 



L€ Conte 
pear 




The Le Conte 
Pear is sup- 
posed to be an 
American 
seedling from the 
ancestral Asiatic 
pear, which, in its own 
home, is an immense 
forest tree, often attain- 
ing the age of 300 years. 
The original Le Conte tree 
is still standing in Georgia, 
a magnificent speci- 
men, hardy, beauti- 
ful and prolific. 
These wonderful new 
pears are as hardy as 
forest trees, of luxuriant foliage, grow to a great 
size, are here free from blight, and yield every year 
an enormous crop of fruit which sells in Eastern 
and Northern markets at prices that compete with 
the older and better known varieties. As a fruit for 
canning, drying or preserving, they are acknow- 
ledged as unequaled. When picked somewhat green 
and ripened in cellars, many connoisseurs pronounce 
them equal to the famous Bartlett. 

The I.e Conte of the Coast Country is the earliest 
pear grown anywhere in the United States. It can 
be placed upon the market during the latter part of 
June, which is fully three weeks earlier than fruit 
can be plucked in California. The Le Conte is a 
very fair eating pear; while it does not rank as high 
as some varieties or command the highest prices, it 
is a pear that supplies tlie market, patronized by 
the middle class. The Le Conte is a very rapid 
grower, and yields abundantly; in fact it is subject 



to over production, which must be guarded against. 
More than 9,000 bushels of Le Conte pears were 
shipped from thirteen acres of nine and ten year old 
trees in H. M. Stringfellow's orchard at Hitchcock, 
during 1893, and the subsequent product has been 
marketed in equally large quantities. 

A Coast Country orchard of Le Conte and Keifer 
pear trees, upward of ten years of age, properly 
attended to, should yield a certain annual revenue 
of $300 to $500 per acre above all expense of taking 
care of the trees and cost of marketing the fruit. 




J. J. SHIRLEY'S PEAR ORCHARD, ALVIN. 



Other Tarieties 2" the ouif coast of 

Texas there has rarely 
been a failure of the Le Conte, Keifer and Garber 
pear crop, while in quality the fruit grown in more 
northern climes suffers in comparison. The Keifer 
is grown for home consumption. The Garber is 
better adapted for shipment. 

Mr, J. J. Shirley, of Alvin, reports that about 70 
to 100 trees are set to the acre, and at ten years 
old they produce 5 to 10 bushels of pears to the 
tree. He has one Keifer tree ten years of age, 
which last season yielded 17 bushels, worth $20; 
also one Le Conte tree at ten years yielded 16 bush- 
els, for which he got $15. These were his best 
trees, and should not be taken as a standard by 
which to estimate average proceeds. In 1897 



Texas buyers paid$i per bushel for the pears, boxed 
and put into the cars at the point of shipment. 

Mr. Sampson, near Alvin, has 23,000 pear trees, 
and many orchards run from 2,000 to 10,000. The 
Garbers ripen shortly after the Le Contes are through 
bearing, say early in August, After the Garbers 
the Keifers begin to ripen, between September ist 
and loth and continue to bear until about the mid- 
dle of October. The Garber ranks as one of the 
choicest of eating pears. The Keifer is best suited 
for canning and preserving. Other varieties grown 
are the Bartlett and Smith's Hybrid. A few years 
will find whole train loads of pears being shipped 
north. At present quite heavy sales are made in 
Northern Texas, Indian Territory, Kansas and 
Nebraska. From $1 to $1.25 per bushel is realized. 

Texas pears may be canned, preserved, evapor- 
ated or made into cider and vinegar. The profits are 
certain and adequate. 

CbC Profits That fruit culture pays is 
evidenced by the following 
statement of profits realized by owners of pear 
orchards in the vicinity of Alvin. The figures are 
gleaned from an article published in a local paper at 
that point during 1898. 

The Boher orchard of twelve acres (poor improve- 
ments but first-class trees) was bought by Mr. Law- 
ler over two years ago for $5,000, and last fall Mr. 
Lawler sold it to Mr. Haley for $7,000. Mr. 
Boher paid $12.50 per acre for the land and only 
cultivated it four years. In that period he made 
expenses from vegetables grown between the tree 
rows. The $5,000, less $150, was clear money. 

'* Fairy Land," owned by Mr. McDonald, 40 
acres, only about half in orchard, sold two years 
ago for $12,000. 

Dr. Fehrenkamp paid $3, 000 for 51 acres adjoin- 
ing Major Durant's. 

The John F. Durant place of 35 acres sold a year 
ago for $7,500. 

The Nesbit orchard of 20 acres sold three years 
ago for $3,250. 

The Zychlinski orchard of 36 acres was purchased 
for $5,000. 

Mr. E. D. Carter paid $2,250 for his orchard of 
four and one-half acres. 

Prof. J. J. Shirley bought 50 acres twelve years 

75 



ago for $6 per acre and refused $16,000 for his 
orchard over two years ago. He has a large family 
and they have made a living from the vegetables, 
strawberries, etc., grown on the place. 

Mr. Henry Sampson has 163 acres which he pur- 
chased some six years ago for about $10 per acre. 
On this he has 19,000 pear trees besides other fruits. 
He says he would not take a cent less than $40,000 
for his orchard. 

Mr. G. H. Cook has 26 acres, on which he has 




ards in this section he 
has made money and a 
i^ name as one of the most 
successful strawberry 
"^^^^ growers. He refused 

:-*,* 0:W^ $6,000 three years ago 
for his place. 
The editor concludes by saying: " If you would 
establish an orchard and do not wish to do the work 
yourself, all that is necessary is to buy the land (say 
20 acres) at $25 per acre — which would be $500. 
Expense of plowing same will be $50; fencing, $75; 
buying and planting 2,000 pear trees, $200. Here 
we have an outlay of $825, or half as much for ten 
acres. After this is done, there are plenty of good 
men who will contract to take the land and care for 
the orchard for what they can make on it." 



"Cbere's JVIoney In Strawberriee 
• • e 

Year by year the acreage of strawberries in 
the Coast Country has been increased until now 
that luscious berry contributes a large share toward 
the fruit grower's income. The growing of this 
berry for market rivals in profit the culture of 
the pear, and the acreage is steadily increas- 
ing. It brings in a fair return the first year 
after planting. You don't get gray-haired waiting 




IN A FIELD OF STRAWBERRIES, MARCH 5th. 



for results. Ik-ginning with raw prairie, an acre of 
strawberries will have cost, to break, harrow, plant, 
fertilize and cultivate, about $70. The net return 
next year should not be less than $200, and the same 
each of the following years. The best results are 
secured by resetting plants annually. 

A prominent grower of strawberries at Alvin states 
that during March, 1898, he and his three boys 
picked from one-eighth of an acre seven and a half 
twenty-four quart crates of strawberries and shipped 



them to Denver, where they sold for $8 per case, 
which was $60 for the lot. This was new land and 
the first crop off of it. 

So important a position has this product assumed 
that more extended mention than heretofore can 
properly be given it. 

The country around Alvin has some of the biggest 
strawberry patches in the country. Inquiries re- 
cently addressed to prominent growers in that locality 
have elicited the following interesting replies "■ 

Bv Otto Rocfs "-^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ 
^ cultivation in strawberries this 

year of the improved Mitchell variety. These 
berries were grown on black sandy soil well culti- 
vated and mulched with light coating of prairie hay 
in January. I sold a part of them on the Alvin 
market and a part I shipped to Kansas City and 
other markets. I realized from these three acres 
$1,700. I also had a three acre patch of new plants 
put in late in the fall and from these three acres I 
realized $365." 



cam. H. OenmS "^ ^ave six acres in 
strawberries, but about 



By 

one acre was set to berries late last fall and did not 
produce any to speak of, so that my crop was 
gathered from five acres. Am cultivating the Hoff- 
man variety principally, although I had one-third 
acre of the Lady Thompson berry, from which I 
have netted almost $200, or at the rate of $600 per 
acre and consider it one of the most profitable var- 
ieties. Have shipped up to date 312 crates, net 
$960, or an average of $3.10 per crate. Consider 
the strawberry crop one of the most valuable that 
can be raised in the Coast Country and will give it 
almost our entire attention hereafter." 

^ * * berries — half Hoffman, half 

Mitchel; use no fertilizer. Sold 400 crates of 24 
quarts each at $2. 52 per crate. Deducting expense 
of packing and picking and the net result was $1.80 
per crate or $720 for the three acres. Receipts 
would have averaged fifty cents a crate more but 
for a few mismanaged shipments to outside points. 
Demand by home buyers active and their prices 
remunerative. Strawberries are a sure crop with 
proper care; they come in earlier here than farther 



north and last longer. I can make more money with 
less labor on three acres of strawberries than on one 
hundred of cotton in any country. This is a great 
country for the poor man." 

Urt in "H tl^^i^^tx''^^^^ have sold up to date 

of Hoffman strawberries and one and a half acres 
of Rogers dewberry, 330 crates at an average of 
$2.70 per crate net. The Hoffman and Michel are 
the two leaders in strawberries, but the Rogers 
dewberry and the Dallas blackberry are both money 
makers and should have a place on every farm in 
the Coast Country. We are still picking from six 
to ten crates daily, which net us $1.75 per crate. 
This beats four cent cotton. The berry crop is the 
money crop here, still we can raise fine vegetables 
and get fair prices for them. The fact that the 
growers could sell their berries and vegetables for 
cash in hand at Alvin has been worth at least 
twenty-five per cent to the farmers of this vicinity." 

f^V m Ul UlAVei " ^""^"^ "^>' seven-eighths of 
Kj^ 'v*** 'v*** %>%.♦«♦■ V ^^ g^j.g jj^ Strawberries of the 

Hoffman variety I gathered 182^ crates, which 
brought in $564.80. I think this berry is a good 
paying crop, and it can be depended upon, too." 

By C. m. B«n90«i:f;/ "frSw^roH^- 

Newman variety and the freeze in February hurt 
the plants. Cannot exactly tell what the total 
returns were from the best field, as we picked from 
two acres of old beds which were run out, but the 
gross receipts were much more than we expected 
and prices ruled very firm, averaging fully $3 per 
crate net for the season. The Hoffman berry has 
proved to be very remunerative here — perhaps the 
best, but it may be closely followed by Lady Thomp- 
son in future seasons — I shall extend my berry acreage 
this year wholly in the two varieties named. About 
seventy-five per cent of the sales at Alvin prior to 
May 1st were for cash, and many days the entire 
pick was sold on the streets. The future of the 
strawberry as a money crop for this section appears 
to be merely a matter of quality. Good fruit will 
always be in demand in March and April and we 
have practically no competition for a period of sixty 
days." 



By H* R. DlCtricb " Can strawberries and 
vegetables be grown here 
with profit ? I believe Alvin and the Coast Coun- 
try to be the best region in Texas or the United 
States for berry culture. Eight years ago I came 
with my family from Galveston, never having had 
any experience whatever in farming, having been 
seven years in the commission business. This year 
I had four acres in berries, two and one-half acres 
in early Mitchell, one-half acre in Hoffman and one 
acre in Norman. The first two varieties did well. 
In all I sold $1,014 worth. As soon as the price 
got down too low I stopped selling and made pre- 
serves and wine out of my berries, for which latter 
there is always a cash market. The last six years I 
made from $75 to $350 per acre from my berries. 
One of my neighbors sold this season over $600 of 
berries from one and one-quarter acres. I have 
made from my berries from $500 to $1,300 a year. 
If I had the experience eight years ago that I have 
now I would probably be $3,000 better off financially. 
I see no reason why I cannot make $1,500 to $3,000 
per year in the culture of strawberries in the Alvin 
country." 




STRAWBERRIES PICKED ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 



)VIisccUancou9 products 

• • • 

(3l*<ipC9 Grapes are planted, cultivated and mar- 
keted on the Texas Coast just as they 
are in California, except that the vineyards of Texas 
bear no comparison in area with the great grape- 
growing regions of the Pacific Coast. 

Enough has been done from which to form an 
opinion as to the prohtableness of the industry. 
Leading horticulturists declare that a Texas vine- 
yard, intelligently located and planted with the right 
varieties, is a certain source of wealth. 

The following grapes grow here in a perfection 
that no country on earth can excel: Chasselas Mus- 
cat or Muscatelli, Chasselas Rose de Peru, Em- 
peror, Black Morocco or Tokay (both flame and 
white), Malaga or Chasselas Napoleon, Black Span- 
ish, Lenoir or Black Burgundy, Goethe, Rogers 
No. I, Salem, Rogers No. 53, Niagara, Black July, 
Roulander, Delaware, Missouri, Rissling and Her- 
bemont. 

If well fertilized, most varieties come into bearing 
the second year, and when three years old may be 
counted on for a yield of ten to fifteen pounds of 
luscious grapes to the vine, and much more as they 
increase in age. 

The Ilerbemont, Black Spanish and Niagara have 
proven themselves to be the most successful, as 
much as $200 net having frequently been obtained 
from two acres of Niagaras from one crop. The 
common American varieties all succeed here. 

\^CCCt^blC6' ^^^ cauliflower will, in the near 
^ future, be raised in large quanti- 

ties for shipment in carload lots. A salt atmosphere 
seems to be essential to the perfect development of 
this vegetable, and as the soil here is well adapted 
to it, every condition is favorable to its growth. It 
is strictly a fall vegetable, and when sown early in 
July, and set out in August in rich soil, the bulk of 
the crop can be marketed before January. 

Cabbages, when planted at the right time, yield 
large returns. There is scarcely a limit to the 
quantities that can be disposed of in the Northwest. 



when grown in sufficient numbers to warrant carload 
shipments. IJig crops are raised at Bolivar Point, 

The Creole and White Queen onions are as success- 
fully grown here as near New Orleans, They mature 
in April when northern onions are sprouting, and 
the demand is unlimited at Si per bushel. 

It is demonstrated that the tomato will produce 
abundantly in the Coast Country. It begins to ripen 
May 20th, and at once hnds ready sale at high prices 
all over Texas. 

Irish potatoes do well everywhere; the early plant- 
ing rarely brings under seventy-five cents a bushel in 
season. Beans, cucumbers, squashes and water- 
melons are grown in limited quantities. 

O 1^^ Southeast Texas is fully equal to southwest 
Louisiana for rice growing. Upwards of 
30,000 acres were sown last season, the output being 
worth $1,250,000, 

To insure a good rice crop, two factors are essen- 
tial: a level body of land, and an abundance of water. 
In Louisiana water is largely supplied by pumping 
from water courses with steam pumps. On the 
Texas coast it can be had from artesian wells at no 
cost other than the boring of the well. 

To plant an acre of rice the first time will cost 
$15 This includes fences, ditches, levees, plowing 
and, planting. After the ground is once prepared, 
subsequent planting may be done for $8 per acre. 
Planting season is from latter part of April to last of 
June, and crop is ready for harvest in five months 
from time of planting, thus furnishing ready money 
while waiting for other crops to mature. It is 
planted, harvested and threshed very much the same 
as wheat and at the same expense, and yields from 
twelve to eighteen barrels of rough rice per acre, 
worth an average of $3.50 per barrel. 

A prominent rice planter of Liberty, Texas, re- 
ports receipts of $3,700 from eighty acres in 1893, 
and the entire expense only $500, a net profit of 
$27.50 per acre. If the rice straw is compressed 
into bales, and sold for feed, it will pay the cost of 
the rice crop. Other products resultant from mill- 
ing are rice bran and rice polish, the former making 
a nutritious feed for stock, while the latter resembles 
buckwheat flour. 

Rice lands with water privileges may be rented at 



one-fifth for water toll and one-fifth for land rent, 
leaving about $25 per acre net, or for the usual one 
hundred acre tract, $2,500 to the tenant. 

This industry is now in its infancy in Texas, but 
the farmers, realizing that some valuable crop must 
take the place of cotton, which hitherto has been 
raised in too great abundance, are turning their at- 
tention to rice culture with much favor. 

Some of the advantages of rice culture over wheat 
are: (i) The long period during which the ground 
can be prepared and the grain sown. Preparations 
can be carried on from October until June, sowing 
from March until July, and harvesting extends over 
a period of nearly four months, from August to 
November, inclusive; (2) the greater value of the 
product; (3) the yield per acre, which is from eight 
to twentv barrels of 162 pounds each. 

A great deal of money can be made in a few years 
in rice cultivation. As the total amount of rice 
raised in the United States is about one-half the 
annual consumption, the output can be largely in- 
creased without danger of over-production. An- 
other factor is the limited area remaining that can 
be planted to rice. 




A FIELD OF SUGAR CANE. 

OUCfill* OdtlC There is money in sugar cane. 
One million acres of south 
Texas land is suitable for its production. As a mat- 
ter of fact, only 15,000 acres are devoted to this in- 
dustry (a paltry percentage) and yet in 1S95 the 
Texas sugar crop sold for $1,500,000, an average of 
nearly $100 per acre. Seventy dollars an acre may 
84 



be reasonably counted on, one year with another, 
one acre of ground turning off 2(j to 50 tons of cane, 
marlcetable at $3.00 a ton. 

Ilitherto it has taken a big capital to run a sugar 
plantation, because in addition to raising the cane 
it was necessary to change it into sugar in one's own 
mill. The man with a plow and a mule, however 
industrious and foresighted, was barred out for lack 
of dollars. Conditions are changing rapidly^ and 
capitalists are now erecting large central sugar mills, 
similar to the central factory in Cuba and Louisiana. 
The small farmer takes his cane there and brings 
its value back immediately in cash. By this plan 
the farmer can grow ten acres or five hundred, and 
the owners of sugar lands can rent them to tenant 
farmers. The separation of cane growing and sugar- 
making processes is in line with the system of large 
packing houses that consume the steer and porker. 

The annual expense for planting an acre of sugar- 
cane will not exceed $6 to $8, because planting is 
only necessary every third or fourth year. To culti- 
vate cane is not half as expensive as to care for a 
field of cotton. The hardest part is the work of 
harvesting. Each individual stalk must be cut by 
hand, a process requiring time and labor. 

Sugar is a remarkable crop in the amount of money 
it diffuses through labor. It requires much care, 
much handling and much machinery. It represents 
a large outlay and brings in a large profit. 

Mr. J. H. House, owner of the Areola Plantation, 
near Houston, says that his profit per acre per 
annum in cultivating sugar cane is $80, and that the 
crop is never failing, though some years it is larger 
than others. 

At Sugarland Ed. H. Cunningham & Co. have 
one of the largest sugar refineries in the world. The 
plant represents an investment of nearly $1,000,000. 
This establishment not only refines sugar, but re- 
cently introduced a paper mill, the paper being made 
from the pulp of the sugar cane. 

A>^|^^-^ Everybody knows cotton is king, even 
V«AiJil^n jn these times of tottering thrones ; 
but everybody does not know that Texas produces 
from one-quarter to one-third of the crop grown in 
this country. The annual yield varies from two 
to three and a half million bales. I louston alone 
handles over half of the cotton crop of Texas. 



pr^ 



'\rw^^^ 




A COTTON GIN AT ALVIN. 



The Texas cotton belt is divided by Nature into 
six districts. The territory along the coast, while 
not producing as many bales as the central district, 
excels it in the number of pounds raised to the acre. 
It used to be thought that cotton could not be pro- 
duced on the open prairie lands. The prairies are 
equal to, if not superior to the river bottom sections, 
and the first cost of land is much less. The aver- 
age yield is from three-quarters to a bale and a half 
of cotton to the acre. Prairie lands yield from a 
half to one bale per acre and bottom lands 50^ more. 
Cotton varies in price from $25 to $45 per bale. 
Mr. W. T. Taylor, of Wharton, affirms that in spite 
of the dry weather of 1897 he raised 600 bales on 
750 acres. 

Cotton is the Coast Country farmer's monopoly. 
It is just as convertible into money as a nugget of 
gold. Owing to fertile soil, good climate and intel- 
ligent culture, this part of Texas combines maximum 
yield with minimum cost. The best results are 
reached on small farms, with home labor. Under 
such circumstances success is as nearly sure as sun- 
rise. The Texas cotton raiser who puts brains into 
his business, does not have to wait until old age for 
a competency even with the low prices recently pre- 
vailing. The cotton planter finds here new land, 
splendidly adapted to his purpose. Another advan- 
tage is cheap labor. Mexican cotton pickers can be 
brought in, who will work reasonably and well. 



It is thought that witiiin tlie next few years the 
credit of being the first sea island cotton market of 
the world will be transierred from Charleston, S. C. 
to Galveston or Houston. 

Another great source of profit is the use which 
cotton seed may be put to. Aside from the oil, 
nothing fattens cattle quicker than cotton seed meal 
and luills. 

^Y^XlCfCQ ^''^"§■68 do fairly well on the Texas 
^ Coast. It is expected that with the 
introduction of certain hardy varieties from Japan 
the orange will come to have an established commer- 
cial value as an article of export. 

ftCtQ Figs grow in the greatest profusion. Fruit- 
/ y growers who are beginning to cultivate it 
claim it is the most profitable fruit that can be raised 
in this locality. Two hundred fig trees can be 
planted to the acre, which will begin to bear in two 
years and be in full bearing in five years, and will 
then yield annually 200 pounds of fruit each, a net 
profit, when dried and preserved, of $3 per tree. 




STRAWBERRY FIELD IN THE DICKINSON COUNTRV. 



pi 



Texas is the home of the plum. It 
^'Tl*^ grows wild in the woods in luxuriant 
profusion. No less than three kinds of wild plums 
grow in southern Texas, all of fine quality and mar- 
ketable. The Japan plum is a comparative failure. 
The American or Chickasaw variety is a success. 

■r\^,,||.^„ Any practical man can take ten acres 
fyOUirry Qf laj^^j^ and 600 of the best laying 
hens, and by raising his own feed clear $1,000 to 
$1,500 each year, and have his fruit trees growing 
on the same ground. " Broilers" find a ready mar- 
ket in Houston at twenty-five to thirty-five cents a 
head. 

■TV - - The fact that milk retails in Houston 

AJaXVyinQ at ten cents a quart and butter at 
twenty-five cents a pound, is enough to show that a 
practical dairyman, who raises his own feed, can 
realize fifty to seventy-five per cent, profit on his 
investment and not work very hard either. 

.jmm . , - The key to the whole prob- 

CratlSpOrtatlOn lem here, as elsewhere, 
where a surplus can be produced, is a good, near-at- 
hand market, with quick transportation to foreign 
markets. The Gulf counties of Texas are every- 
where accessible to Houston and Galveston by rail 
or water. Numerous streams and bayous are navi- 
gable inland for long distances by schooners and 
steamboats. Several hundred small schooners and 
steamers daily ply between Galveston and neighbor- 
ing inland places, engaged in carrying freight. The 
Santa Fe Route opens up a vast market in north 
Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas City, St. Louis 
and Chicago. But the best guarantee of good prices 
is the fact that everything here matures several weeks 
earlier than a hundred miles inland or anywhere else 
in the United States, except the south end of Florida 
and Louisiana. The first half of the crop can al- 
ways be marketed without competition. 



H Review and Outloofe 

Sy jVIr. Stringfcllow 

• • 

R.<>\>li>%*» ^^ is just fifteen years since I moved to 
AVCvlglV Hitchcock to embark in the fruit and 
veo^etable business, and plant the first successful 
pear orchard in the Coast Country. 

At that time the total number of residents along 
the Santa P'e line between Virginia Point and Alvin 
could have been counted on the two hands. The 
Houston branch had not been started; the Santa Fe 
had just crossed the Brazos River on its march to the 
North, and a single train up in the morning and 
down at night, constituted the entire service. Hitch- 
cock was the only settlement between the bay and 
Houston, 

It seems almost incredible that the short space of 
fifteen years could have sufficed for the wonderful 
development that has since taken place. Instead of 
creeping slowly over an open, wild prairie, and 
through herds of wandering long-horns at the rate 
of fifteen or twenty miles an hour, once a day, the 
traveler now speeds at three times that pace, and six 
times a day, each way, through an almost continu- 
ous succession of orchards and gardens on each side 
of the track, and hundreds of packages of fruit and 
vegetables daily leave the various bustling little 
towns along the road. This rapid change from the 
prairie-waste, with its sea of waving grass, to fertile 
fields and cozy homes, has been due almost entirely 
to the wise liberality and fostering care of the vari- 
ous managements, both freight and passenger, of 
the Santa Fe Railroad. 

Of course, in its progress to the present high state 
of development, Coast Country settlers have had 
obstacles toov'^ercome in places, and disappointments 
to bear here as well as elsewhere. Drouth, frost 
and excessive rains have occasionally worked seri- 
ous harm; but the length of our seasons, and the 
great variety of products that can be grown, nearly 
always allow the growers to recoup themselves on a 



different and successful crop in case one should from 
any cause be a failure. 

Let us see how the Coast Country now stands 
(Spring- of '97). From a few packages of vegetables 
and berries fifteen years ago, we are now growing 
and shipping thousands of crates annually, and best 
of all, have induced buyers from distant markets lo 
send their agents down to purchase the various pro- 
ducts on the ground. This is by far the most satis- 
factory plan. 

As to the future of this section, there can be little 
doubt that it has advanced be3^ond the experimental 
stage. While lands have shrunk in value from the 
boom prices of ten years ago, they are now on a sub- 
stantial and reasonable basis, below which they are 
never likely to fall. The bottom has been touched, 
and the present time affords opportunities that are 
not likely to remain long. But, while lands will 
hardly go lower in Galveston County, it will be folly 
to buy largely on credit, expecting to make a living 
and pay for it out of the ground at the same time. 
This has been a fatal mistake of many of the early 
settlers of this section. They came with insulhcient 
means, inflated ideas of profits, and often lacked 
that real love for the business which is the greatest 
secret in succes::ful fruit and vegetable growing; 
without it, losses and failure will quickly disgust the 
planter for money only, which the genuine lover of 
the business would have borne with patience and 
conquered by persevering efforts. 

Prices of all fruits and vegetables have now come 
to bedrock all over the country, but if they can be 
grown with profit anywhere, it can be done here. 

In addition to this, we have a most delightful and 
healthy climate, and the most progressive and liberal 
railroad in the country, and if a man has made up 
his mind to change his home (while, of course, it is 
a serious move) he should give the merits of the 
Coast Country of Texas a careful examination before 
taking the step. 

Cbc Outlook "Two years ago I wrote the 
above review and am glad to 
say that there has since been a steady improvement 
until there is now (early summer of 1S99) a general 
oonfidence tliat the future is full of promise. There 
have been some failures on the part of individuals 
who were unsuited to rural life and without suffi- 



cient means to make a success, but such conditions 
always prevail in the development of all new coun- 
tries. While the past winter has been exceptionally 
severe and the late freeze in February unparalleled 
in the history of this section, still the Coast Country 
of Texas has shown its remarkable resources and 
wonderful recuperative powers by turning- out, in 
spite of these obstacles, one of the most profitable 
crops we have ever had. The strawberry has been 
particularly remunerative and with the increased 
acreage, both of berries and vegetables, have come 
buyers to take the output directly from the growers. 
With years of experience the people have now 
found out what crops are most profitable, as well 
as improved methods of growing them, and also 
learned to appreciate the importance of raising, as 
largely as possible, their feed stuffs at home. 
Corn, oats, sorghum, peanuts and cow peas are 
being generally planted and prairie hay saved in 
increasing quantities. Up to the severe freeze of 
February 15th the promise for an immense pear 
crop was never so good, but unfortunately the low 
temperature caught the sap in motion and caused a 
large part of the Le Conte to shed. The Keiffer, 
however, which blooms later, has all the fruit the 
trees can carry. The grapes were entirely unhurt 
and the prospects for a fine yield could not be 
better. The Niagara is most generally planted 
and has never yet made a failure. The interest in 
fig culture received a check from the killing to the 
ground of many of the tender varieties, though the 
Celeste, in most instances, came through all right. 
But the fig renews itself so quickly and bears so 
early, that even the loss of a tree means only the 
missing of one or two crops. Ev^nthe China and 
mulberry trees were killed in many places, a thing 
which never happened before nor is likely to occur 
again in many years. Taken altogether the out- 
look is very bright. While most of the states are 
locked up in ice and snow for months, our farmers 
and gardeners need lose scarcely a day except from 
rain, and enjoy a climate almost entirely exempt 
from pneumonia, diphtheria and typhoid fever, three 
of the worst diseases of the North. Lands are still 
very cheap but will advance in the near future. 

H. M. Stringfellow." 



91 



Crops 
'Chat ^ield jVIoncy Quickly 



e • • 

Mr. C, \V. Benson is local agent of Wells, Fargo 
& Co.'s Express at Alvin, Texas. His experience, 
both as a fruit grower and a handler of all kinds of 
products grown around Alvin, is sufficiently varied 
and practical to give his remarks more than ordinary 
force. Mr. Benson says: 

"More should be written about what- has been 
done in money crops in the Coast Country. The 
virriter came to Alvin five years ago without experi- 
ence, bought 20 acres of land, has expended in 
improvements, including good residence and farm 
buildings, $3,000. 

"Our receipts from the place in 1898 were $2,800; 
expenses S950. We have produced $500 from two 
acres of tomatoes, $200 per acre from four acres of 
strawberries ($550 from fruit plats and $250 from 
plant plats). One dollar and ten cents per hill was 
netted last spring on 83 hills of cucumbers in hotbed 
on our place. 

"Only a small portion of the land has been pro- 
ducing. Three acres devoted to flowers gave us 
over $r, 000. We will fruit for the first time this 
year, one acre of grapes, one acre of blackberries, 
and half an acre of peaches, and have maturing two 
acres of pears, one-half acre of dewberries, two 
acres of figs, one acre of nursery stock and Ave and 
one-half acres of vegetables (worked in unused 
spaces); also one-fourth acre of asparagus. 

"To my positive knowledge grapes have paid 
over $100 per acre here; blackberries $125 per acre, 
and dewberries (estimated from small plats) $125; 
peaches were produced for the first time last season 
— much of the fruit was large enough to completely 
fill a coffee cup, and sold from 6oc to goc per one- 
third bushel net. Figs paid one of my neighbers 
$450 for three acres. Nursery stock pays from $150 
to $300 per acre, but should, perhaps, have irriga- 
tion to make it safe. Vegetables pay from $35 to 
$75 per acre, including sweet potatoes, which netted 



the grower $8 per ton last fall. Winter vegetables 
were, of course, lost this spring in the February 
freeze, but when there are crops coming on ten 
months in the year it is less discouraging than where 
nothing but short seasons prevail. 

"Touching on pears — it is quite probable that 
they will prove less remunerative than was at first 
supposed, and I consider it vitally important that 
true estimates should be given. Pear orchards al- 
ready planted should pay fairly good returns, but 
diversification is now the order of the day. 

" I share Mr. Stringfellow's opinion that certain 
varieties of oranges and also asparagus will prove to 
be two of our best paying crops, and many small 
experiments are now under way in both lines. 

•' Several cash buyers of fruit and vegetables are 
permanently located here, and the markets which 
look to us for their supply not only pay better prices 
than eastern markets, but at present are somewhat 
less discriminating or exacting as to certain stand- 
ards in quality. This is an advantage to inexperi- 
enced growers until they can learn to produce and 
pack the various commodities in better grades and 
more attractive form." 




CULTIVATING HORSE RADISH. 



94 



T^h 



c 

Diversified Xntcrests of Ccxas 

• • • 

Extracts from an interview with Mr. Jas. A. Davis, 
Industrial Commissioner of the Santa Fe Route, 
which appeared in the Chicago Daily Record of 
March 14, 1898 : 

"Texas, with its area of 270,000 square miles, 
is an empire richer in itself than Chicago and the 
West generally begin to appreciate. Within that 
area are greater diversities of products and more 
pursuits are possible than in a similar area in any 
part of the world. Cotton is, and will, of course, 
continue to be, the chief staple product. It is evi- 
dent from last season's experience that cotton can 
be grown there more profitably than anywhere else. 
The wheat area is rapidly being enlarged, and many 
flouring mills are now operating in the state and 
using only Texas wheat. Tobacco is being success- 
fully cultivated and additional lands are being used 
for this purpose. Sugar manufacturers, too, are 
finding practical and profitable possibilities in sugar 
lands in the southern portion of the state. ^ The 
pine-timber interests are some of the largest in the 
country, the output for 1896 having aggregated 
400,000,000 feet. For farmers Texas offers an ex- 
ceedingly good field for the cultivation of small 
fruits. 

" For high-grade wools Texas is considered by ex- 
perts to be second only to Australia. Texas cattle 
are known all over the United States. Oil has been 
found in paying quantities, and there are indications 
of new coal fields. 

" The manufacturing interests of the state are in- 
creasing and the field is now open to many new 
industries. The local conditions for such are excep- 
tionally favorable, there being an abundance of raw 
materials close at hand. The average prosperity of 
the state is high. The farmers are all greatly en- 
couraged and are engaged in studying the diversifi- 
cation of crops and the possibility of reducing the 
cost of raising cotton and wheat by giving attention 

95 



to other farm products. There is a section of the 
country on the San Angelo branch of the Santa Fe 
where wheat and cotton are raised side by side on 
the same farm. 

" The towns in Texas are growing rapidly. Gal- 
veston, Houston, Belton, Temple, Weatherford, 
Cleburne, Fort Worth, Dallas and Gainesville all 
show signs of increasing prosperity. The advan- 
tages of Galveston as a port are becoming better 
known every year, and it promises to be one of the 
leading ports in the country. Chicago and the west 
are considerably interested in the development of 
Galveston's port facilities, as in some measure off- 
setting any monopolistic tendencies on the part of 
the Atlantic ports." 




"■^^^^^^^'T'^w'^^^ 



PiCKJNG BEANS ON CHADWICK'S PLACE- 



Successful Cobacco Culture 

• • • 

The article below was contributed by Mr. W. B. 
Slosson, of the Houston Newcomers' Association, 
Houston, Texas, March i8, 1898: 

" Please advise the world that the purest and best 
of Havana tobacco has been, and is now being grown, 
in at least six counties of the Coast Country. This 
innovation of transferring the raising of that high- 
priced staple to southeast Texas is of great interest 
to newcomers from the North. 

" Last year 600 acres of this tobacco was raised. 
1898 will see from g.ooo to 12,000 acres grown. 
The market price of ordinary tobacco is from seven 
to eleven cents per pound. The price paid to our 
Texas farmers for Havana tobacco was from fifty 
cents to one dollar per pound. The duty on Hav- 
ana tobacco is $1.35 to $2.00 on wrappers, both of 
which can be raised and handled here as cheaply as 
common tobacco heretofore raised. 

"On February 26, 1898, a meeting of the Texas 
Tobacco Growers' Association (A. R. P. Moore, of 
Houston, president) was held at the Houston Busi- 
ness League. At this meeting, Mr. S. J. Washburn, 
Vice-President of the DeWitt County Tobacco 
Growers' Association, said: 'We could dispose of 
20,000 cars of this tobacco in a single season. There 
is no limit to the demand for fine cigar tobacco We 
have the climate and the soil to grow to advantage 
light tobacco from Havana seed, and in only a small 
portion of the United States can these grades be 
raised. New England and New York are nearly 
driven out of the market already, for the reason 
that we can grow better grades for less money.' 

" Messrs. Mitchellson & Hubbard, of Kansas 
City, leaf tobacco dealers, offered me one dollar a 
pound for some specially high grades that I raised 
last year. Although I am familiar with tobacco- 
raising in Missouri, Wisconsin and Ohio, I am sure 
better profits can be had from raising it in southeast 
Texas than any other part of the Union. 

"Owen Smith & Co., of southeast Texas, sold 
their crop of to, 000 pounds at sixty cents a pound. 



T. J. Rountree produced, last year, 13.000 pounds 
from eighteen acres, selling 10,000 pounds at fifty 
cents and the remainder at twenty-five cents. 

"The absence of severe winds here is a large 
factor in tobacco culture. The cheap lands, the 
high duties on imported tobacco, the long seasons, 
a large rainfall and an equable climate, makes this 
Coast Country of Texas especially attractive to set- 
tlers who desire to diversify their crops. 

" In a state like Texas, where nearly all the staple 
grains are raised successfully (a state which also 
raises one-third of the whole cotton crop of Amer- 
ica), where all the vegetables and fruits do well and 
find a ready market, where the lowest freight rates by 
both rail and water prevail, coupled with the fact 
that good, rich prairie lands with plenty of timber 
can be had on favorable terms at from $5 to $8 
per acre — and the reason is apparent why immi- 
grants are now seeking the Coast Country of Texas 
in preference to any other spot in the Union. And 
they are coming on every excursion train of the Santa 
Fe Route; thousands are coming in annually. Those 
who come (I say it as a formerly northern man) are 
sure of a cordial southern welcome at all times to 
this bright land of sunshine and of flowers." 

Under date of August i, 1899, Mr. Slosson adds 
the following: 

" During the Houston ' Fruit, Flower and Vege- 
table Festival,' held from December 5 to 11, 189S, 
Hon. Walter Whitney, Assistant Secretary of Agri- 
culture, at Washington, D. C, attended the festival 
especially to note the progress made in the growing 
of Cuban tobacco, and to see the exhibits there dis- 
played. To him it was a revelation of the capacity 
of the Coast Country soils, as the tobacco there 
shown equaled any raised in the United States, and 
brought on the market such prices as was supposed 
to be only paid for the best Havana tobacco. This 
only proves what has been said before — that our own 
people are not yet aware of the many possibilities 
awaiting developmerlt in this Coast Country of 
Texas." 



Ve.J 



Cexas 

Hs a 'Cobacco Growing State 
• • • 

Information for this article was prepared by Mr. 
A. R. Moore, President of the Texas Tobacco 
Growers' Association, of Houston, Texas. Mr. 
Moore says: 

" Texas is now growing the highest grade of cigar 
tobacco in the United States, and many experts 
pronounce it equal to Cuban tobacco. 

The kind of tobacco that is being most success- 
fully raised is the Vuelta Abajo, from Cuban seed. 
The growers are now experimenting in raising 
Sumatra wrapper, and from the samples submitted, 
there is no doubt but what we can grow as good 
^rade of wrappers here as can the Island of Sumatra. 
The acreage in this state this year will be double 
that of last year, which will be about 10,000 acres. 

" Hon. Milton Whitney, Chief Division of Soil of 
the Agriculture Department, who is also an expert 
on tobacco, said in an address at our last annual 
meeting, which was held in this city December 8th, 
1S98: 'Of the kinds of tobacco you growers are 
producing, that intended' for the manufacture of 
cigars is -the finest grown. From the samples ot 
Texas tobacco I have seen, I am convinced that 
much of the Texas tobacco is quite similar to the 
best grade raised in Cuba. ' 

" 'Fhe duty on Havana wrappers is $1.85 to $2. 50 
per pound and on fillers thirty-five to fifty cents, 
all of which can be saved the cigar manufacturer by 
using native stock, which is equally as good in 
every respect. . Cigar wrappers and fillers grown in 
Southwestern Texas are equal in quality and flavor 
to the Cuban plant, a fact that manufacturers are 
beginning to realize. It needs no profound mathe- 
matician to figure out the value of home grown 
stock. With suitable soil, a salubrious climate, 
good markets and quick returns the tobacco planter 
is forging to the front and building up a fortune 
for himself. 

" Read carefully the following testimonials, pro- 
cured by Mr. Harrison of Harrison c\: Jones, Kansas 
City, a brother of ex-president Harrison: 

L#fC. 99 



By r>. S» Sdlcr " -^ ^^ ^ tobacco raiser as 

•^ * * well as cigar manufacturer; 

came from Illinois to Willis, in Montgomery 
County; have grown eight crops of cigar tobaccos 
in South Texas; was among the first to plant cigar 
tobacco in Montgomery County, Texas; have raised 
a crop of tobacco in Angelina County, Texas, this 
year, and for some of my cigar wrappers am offered 
$2 per pound. I have examined two samples of 
soil from a tract of 27,000 acres at Olive, Texas, in 
Hardin County, and I pronounce the samples shown 
me to be first-class cigar tobacco lands, both for 
wrappers and fillers, but more especially adapted to 
growing high grade cigar wrappers. I can cheer- 
fully recommend these soils to anyone wishing to 
buy lands for the growing of high grade cigar stuff. 

By lobti r>, -Cwyman ^^ ^^^11^°" ^ l"^/' 

■^ -^ ^ man, Kansas City, 

Mo., wholesale dealers in domestic and Key West 
cigars: 

" I have had seven years' experience in the cigar 
business and feel that I am competent to judge 
of the quality of tobacco necessary to make a first- 
class cigar. I had the privilege some days ago of 
examining in your office some samples of cigar leaf 
tobacco raised in Southeastern Texas, and 1 unhesi- 
tatingly state that a great many of the samples 
examined I consider very fine and equal in every 
way to the finest Havana tobacco, the duty on 
which is $1.85 per pound." 

By -3. C. Mitchdson ZT^:^t^., 

Mo., dealers in leaf tobacco: 

"It has been my privilege to examine Texas 
tobacco of different years' crops. I have also visited 
Southeastern Texas in the interests of our firm, to 
examine the soil in that section and the tobacco 
grown there. The cultivation of cigar tobacco has 
been my life-work, and it is a pleasure for me to be 
able to give my favorable opinion in regard to the 
soil and tobacco raised in Southeastern Texas. I 
visit all the different states where cigar tobacco is 
raised and visit Cuba annually in the interests of 
our firm. Some of the samples from Southeastern 
Texas are the nearest like the famous Vuelta Abajo 
from the Pinar del Kio district of western Cuba I 

100 



have ever seen. Some of the Texas tobacco I con- 
sider equal in appearance to tobacco, the market 
price of \vhich, in I'inar del Rio, has been $S per 
pound for wrapper purposes. The soil in South- 
eastern Texas is the nearest like the soil in Cuba of 
any we have in our tobacco-producing states. 

"The cost of fertilizing lands and preparino;- 
them to grow such high grades of tobacco in the 
northern states is from five to ten times the cost of 
our Texas lands, which have the necessary natural 
fertilizers and soils that can produce a much higlier 
grade than can be raised there. Lands suitable for 
tobacco raising can be purchased here from $5 to 
$10, in tracts from fifty acres to 20,000 acres, either 
for individuals or colonization purposes. 

"A stock company has been formed in Kansas 
City, Mo., for the purpose of owning and planting, 
this year, a tobacco farm of 1,000 acres near Olive, 
in this State. 

"The demand for high grade tobacco is far in 
excess of the supply, and it will be years before the 
supply will be equal to the demand. Nine-tenths 
of the Texas tobacco is now being sold in Eastern 
markets as Cuban tobacco, at prices from $i to 
$1.50 per pound, 

"The half has not been told about the bright 
future and prospects for the tobacco culture of 
Texas. There is not a large section in the world 
which can produce as fine tobacco as we are raising 
here, and with our intelligent methods of handling 
staples of this kind, we will soon surpass any 
country in the world in producing high grade 
tobaccos. 

"Judging by the antiquated manner in which the 
Cubans are handling their product Texas will soon 
take the lead in this industry. When we speak of 
Cuba as a tobacco growing country the natural 
inference is that all Cuba raises this high grade 
goods, but such is not the case. It i« a little strip 
of country in the western part of Cuba, about 160 
miles long by thirty miles wide, known as the Pinar 
del Rio province, wherein is located the celebrated 
Vuelta Abajo district. All nations of the earth are 
now using cigar tobacco from this district, and Cuba, 
in her most palmy days, was never able to supply 
the world with this famous tobacco. From the above 
information it is evident that, with our climatic con- 
ditions and soil, we will soon surpass Cuba." 



Secretary ^Qdilson's Views 

• • • 

Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C, recently visited the Coast 
Country. In an interview he says : 

" The Coast Country is immense. That express- 
es it in a word. But a most singular development 
appears here. You are preparing to handle the pro- 
ducts of several states back of you, and yet, within 
an hour's ride you have thousands of acres of the 
finest land in the world — land that will raise anything 
— unsettled, unused, for sale at $15 per acre. I have 
never encountered such a condition anywhere else, 
for, as a rule, lands in the suburbs of the great cities 
are worth $150 to $400 an acre. Why it is so I do 
not know; but it is so. Within the past few years a 
few people have taken advantage of this opportu- 
nity. They have bought lands in this Coast Coun- 
try, and they are making money — lots of it. 

" The States back of Texas have been developed. 
The people have made money, and there are millions 
of dollars lying idle in the banks. This money will 
seek investment, and the people will take advantage 
of the opportunity to buy your splendid lands cheap 
and they will develop them. Texas is a splendid 
State — a great empire. It has started upon an era 
of development and progress. You know it has 
been said that during the late war the people of the 
United States have discovered themselves; they be- 
gin to appreciate what they have. 

" I think that it is one of the finest countries in 
the world, and the more I see of it, the more I think 
so. I talked to the people awhile at Alvin. I saw 
some Iowa friends there. I can't understand how 
it is that such growing cities as Houston and Cial- 
veston can have such fine prairie between them and 
so much of it untilled. We want the people to get 
in on that and bring it into cultivation. 

"My friends, this is a wonderful country. It 
seems to m2 you can raise anything here. Your soil 
is as good as our soil in Iowa. If I was a young 
man I'd pack my grip and come to Texas. The 
conditions and the prospects for development are 
such that I could not afford to remain away." 

102 



Real Estate Hgents' OpinioriB 

• • • 

If it is your business to buy and sell coffee, you 
master every detail in order to know all there is worth 
knowing on the subject; to be an expert in grading 
and pricing. So it is with land. A reliable real 
estate agent can furnish more common sense facts 
about a farm than the owner himself — because the 
owner only knows about his own land, while it is 
the agent's business to be informed regarding all 
sorts of farms. One talks from the retail, the other 
from the wholesale point of view. Below are given 
extracts from interviews with three prominent Hous- 
ton real estate agents, which recently appeared in a 
leading journal of that city: 

By MvQ* Bcttie Bryan " ^/^^ "^"^^ at least 

'a dozen counties m 
Southern and Southeastern Texas in which the waste 
lands would not amount to as much as 5 per cent of 
the total area, provided the country was supplied 
with a proper system of ditches and drainage. The 
great bulk of these lands are as fine for the produc- 
tion of all the cereals, cotton, fruit, berries, vegeta- 
bles, in fact everything that grows in this climate, 
as can be found anywhere. 

" The great variety of crops that can be grown 
makes the country very attractive to the agricultur- 
ist; but I am especially impressed with its possibili- 
ties as a rice producing section." 

By C. ^. F>abl " ^^^^t do I think about the 
* development of the agricultural 

resources of the Texas Coast Country? Why, this 
country is being improved so fast that our home peo- 
ple cannot keep up with the procession. Up to the 
past five or six years many crops which are now suc- 
cessfully and very profitably raised here were sup- 
posed to be a failure in this country. Northerners 
say that we have the finest country on earth (the 
Coast Country) and it will be the garden spot of the 
United States before many years; that our advan- 
tages are many and great over the Northern States 

103 



in climate, markets, shipping facilities, cheap build- 
ing material, saving in clothing, and by raising 
nearly everything one eats; that our stock runs out 
and feeds the year round, while they have to feed 
from six to seven months; and last, but not least, 
our cheap, good lands that are offered here from $5 
to $10 per acre, are just as good and will raise as 
much as lands up north worth $40 to $80 per acre." 

By 'J* R* BHOfbt * ' Many years ago you could 
trade a two dollar and a half 
saddle pony for a section of Texas land, but you 
can't do it now. Why? Because there was one per- 
son (man, woman or child) to each 1,000 acres of 
land in this great State, and today there are almost 
300 acres to each man, woman or child. 

" Now everything is changed. The cattle interest 
has moved westward and the land owner has found 
new uses for his lands instead of grazing vast herds 
of long horns. He is making his lands bring him a 
bigger profit by cultivation, or by selling them to 
those who will cultivate them. In this way a new 
era has been inaugurated. 

" We have practical demonstration that our coast 
lands will produce sugar, rice, corn, cotton, all sorts 
of grass, melons, vegetables, fruits and berries. 
You ask, how much do you make per acre? As an 
example we'll take corn, because everyone can com- 
pare corn. There are a great many reports on held 
averages of corn in the Coast Country that show 46 
bushels is the average on lands that are properly 
tilled. There is a report on a farm in Brazoria 
county that shows an average of 57I bushels on a 
field of twenty acres of sod land. Now this sod land 
is worth $10 to $15 per acre, but if you will stop to 
compare the value of products gathered from $10 or 
$15 lands against Kansas, Illinois, Tennessee or 
Kentucky $100 per acre lands, you will find that you 
can pay for your purchases of Coast Country lands 
with the products gathered the first year and have 
enough left over to keep your family and stock. 
Are such lands high ? 

" The Coast Country is a paradise for a poor man. 
He can pay for his farm and accumulate a larger 
domain while he is taking care of and raising a fam- 
ily to occupy it." 



Cdbat One jNlan f)a8 Done 

• • • 

In the Saturday Reuiew, Galveston, April 16, 
1S9S, appears an interesting article by Mr. Richard 
Spillane, entitled, " The Story of a Coast Country 
Experiment." It takes the form of an interview 
with Rev. J. J. Shirley, one of the pioneer fruit and 
vegetable growers at Alvin. Extracts from the 
most valuable portions appear below : 

"How much land have you in cultivation?" I 
asked. 

"I have," said Mr. Shirley, "something over 
2,000 pear trees. Those trees you see there are the 
first I planted. Of the 2,000 in the orchard between 
800 and 1,000 are now bearing. Year by year I 
have extended my orchard. The trees over there to 
the west are young. A few years more and they 
will bear. I have, all told, 44 or 45 acres in culti- 
vation. Over there to the southwest I have peaches 
and plums. The big cabbage field you passed as 
you came up toward the gate is mine." 

"What has been the result in a financial way 
from your farm and orchard ? " I asked. 

" I have not," said the reverend gentleman, "kept 
what you would call a set of books, so I can only 
answer in a general way. While my orchard has 
been growing, I have grown strawberries, corn, cot- 
ton, sweet and Irish potatoes, cabbage, okra, Eng- 
lish peas, beets, turnips, radishes, celery, onions, 
vegetable musk, sugar cane, sorghum, squash, 
watermelons, canteloupes, red pepper, and dozens 
and dozens of other things in the rows between the 
fruit trees. Every month in the year I have been 
kept busy sowing and gathering some crop. \'ou 
know we raise two or three crops a year here on the 
same land. 

" When I came here, as I tell you, I had S4S5. 
Well, I have paid for my land and I have bought 
more land. I have spent $2,000 in improvements 
in the way of houses. I have raised my family. I 
have sent my sons to Georgetown I'niversity and 
had them educated. I sent my daughter to Gran- 
bury College. I've had money in bank." 

" Have you had any offers for your farm ?" 



" Ves, many. I should think I've had one hun- 
dred or more. The largest amount offered was 
$16,000 cash." 

"And you wouldn't sell?" 

" No," was the clergyman's reply. 

" Mr. Shirley," said I, "there has been a great 
deal of discussion about this fruit country between 
Houston and Galveston. Some men have failed ; 
some have been successful. Will you tell me — you 
should be in a position to know — what is necessary 
for success?" 

"Any man," said Mr. Shirley, " who is willing to 
work and who has a little money to back him up 
until he gets started can succeed. Brains — good 
common sense, I mean — muscle and money mean 
success in this Coast Country. There is more in the 
man than in the land. Some men are adapted by 
nature for fruit growing and for gardening. vSome 
men have the power of adapting themselves to it. 
Some men would make a failure on any land. Any 
man who is at all practical can come into this Coast 
Country and, if he had enough money to carry him 
over the first two years, he ought to run along like 
a top after that." 

" How much land should a man take?" 

" I do not think a man should go over 30 acres. 
He shouldn't work more than 20 acres. He should 
have a little pasturage." 

I asked the Rev. Mr. Shirley to tell me what had 
been the monetary return to him from the various 
crops he had raised. 

" It's difficult for me to tell you exactly," he re- 
plied. " Take strawberries, for instance. Some 
years I grow a good many of them, two or three 
acres, maybe. Other years I grow only an acre. 
The crop and the price vary. I think it would be 
conservative to put the monetary return of straw- 
berries at $250 an acre. They need a good deal of 
attention, you know. 

" Snap beans ; that is a good crop. They pay 
from $50 to $60 an acre. I raise them in the spring 
and after gathering the crop I put the land into 
cotton. 

"Of cotton I raise a bale to the acre on open 
ground and half a bale to the acre when I plant it 
between the rows of fruit trees. 

" Corn goes 20 bushels to the acre. 

" Sweet and Irish potatoes I grow between the 



rows in the orchards. Of Irish potatoes I raise 
from 50 to 75 bushels to the acre. Of sweet pota- 
toes I raise 100 bushels. 

" Cabbage is a winter crop. I plant in October 
and harvest in January, February and March. Last 
year my return from cabbage was $100 per acre. 

" Okra grows magnificently in this country. 

" English peas are particularly adapted to this 
soil and pay well. I make $100 an acre from the 
crop I sow. 

" Beets do well, but I haven't grown many. 

" Turnips are profitable. Rutabagas and spring 
turnips grow as well here as any place in the coun- 

" Radishes — they are simply prolific. 

" Celery is destined to be one of our great crops, 
I believe. This is essentially a celery region and 
where proper attention is given the crop is as fine as 
anyone could desire. 

" Onions require a great deal of care and when it 
is given we have excellent crops. 

" I have experimented with rice, with vegetable 
musk, with sugar cane and with sorghum, and the 
result has been good. The yield from sugar cane 
has been 300 gallons to the acre. The sorghum is 
fine. * 

"It is needless, I presume, to tell you what a 
great region this is for squash, watermelons, and 
cantaloupes. To grow watermelons or cantaloupes 
no preparation is necessary further than to turn over 
the sod." 

" Now," said I, "tell me about the pears, the 
peaches and the plums." 

" I am growing two varieties of pears — the Keif- 
fer and the Le Conte. l>oth are successful, but 
my orchard will not show as good returns as will 
those of other orchards in the Coast Country. My 
orchard, from the fact that it is the oldest in the 
Alvin district, has been the place to which visitors 
have made pilgrimages. Not only that, but, from 
the fact that it was the first to bear, my neighbors 
have come to me to examine the fruit. I have 
always allowed visitors or my neighbors to help 
themselves to fruit, so, you see, the yield will appear 
smaller than it really was. I think one-half of the 
crop each yedr has gone in the way I explained. 

"The Le Conte trees begin to bear when six 
years old. The Keiffer bears when four. The first 

107 



year my trees bore fruit they averaged — that is, I 
sold — one-half bushel of pears to the tree. I got 
$2.00 per bushel. The second year the trees bore, 
or, rather, I sold, at the rate of one bushel to the tree. 
This year I will sell about five bushels to the tree." 

" How much do you get per bushel for pears ? " 

" I expect at the least $1.00 per bushel. Those 
I sell in small lots I believe will bring $1.50 per 
bushel. Those I ship will bring $1.00 per bushel." 

" How about plums and peaches ? " 

" Peaches grow finely here, but the trees are short 
lived. After bearing three or four years the trees 
die out. The same applies to plums. Figs are 
profitable and easy to cultivate." 

" Do you make use of such pears as you do not 
ship away? " 

"Assuredly. I have made pear cider here that 
my neighbors buy and when I let the cider go to 
vinegar, I have no trouble selling it at 25 cents pei 
gallon. I am about to build a cider press that will 
turn out three barrels a day. I am going into the 
vinegar making business, and have no doubt the 
worth of the article and the purity of the making 
will create a demand that will support the industry," 

I asked Mr. Shirley if he thought there was any 
danger when all the pear trees in the Coast Country 
got to yielding that the market would be glutted. 

"Gracious, no ! '' he replied. "Why, some gen- 
tlemen from London, who were here, and who were 
asked what they thought about it said the city of Lon- 
don could consume the entire fruit crop of this region. 

" You see, we fruit growers have made a good 
many mistakes heretofore. We are only now learn- 
ing our business after having been in the crucible of 
experience. Formerly we didn't know exactly the 
proper time to pick the fruit or exactly the way to 
ship it. Now we have our eyes open. We know 
something about cold storage, too. And we know 
where and when to ship." 

" What have been the elements that have militated 
against the Coast Country?" Rev. Mr. Shirley was 
asked. 

" Drainage has been one of the great drawbacks," 
he replied. " That we are overcoming slowly, but 
surely. Irrigation is another. It will not be many 
years before we have these problems solved. Every- 
thing we do is for improvement ; every season we 
are nearer to success. 



Other I^cxas Counties 

• • • 

Below is given a very brief resume of the various 
Texas counties traversed by the Gulf, Colorado & 
Santa Fe Railway, excepting those near the Gulf 
coast which are fully described elsewhere. 

In view of the general plan of the pamphlet, 
which is to call special attention to the Gulf coast 
section, a complete " write-up " cannot be furnished 
here. But even this condensation may convey some 
idea of the immense resources of inland Texas, an 
empire in wealth and power and possibilities. 

Husttn County !:^^t^^^:^^S. 

1,500. Well watered by Brazos River, also Mill 
Creek, East Bernal and other creeks. Along Brazos 
River and Mill Creek are forests of oak, ash, elm 
and black walnut; tire-wood abundant everywhere. 
Area of Austin County, 700 square miles; one-third 
under cultivation and two-thirds fenced. Soil is a 
black, sandy loam in the river bottoms; a black, 
sticky quality on the prairies and one-third sandy 
black in hills. Principal crop, cotton; corn and oats 
also raised and every variety of vegetables. Popu- 
lation mainly a prosperous class of Germans. Best 
of educational advantages. Summers are never op- 
pressive, while winters are short and mild. Cyclones 
have never visited this section, and a total failure of 
crops is unknown. 

0^11 CdUHtrV r'opulation about 50,000; county 
'^'^''^ V^SiJUIll.y ^^^^^ Belton, population 5,000. 
Well watered with four rivers, numerous creeks and 
springs; also many hne artesian wells in and around 
Belton. Timbered with oak, pecan, cedar, etc. 
Gold and silver found in small quantities in the hills. 
Area of the county, 1,045 square miles, two-thirds 
under cultivation. Soil is of a black-waxy nature; 
about one-third timber land mixed with sandy gravel. 
Principal crops are cotton, corn, oats, wheat, hay 
and sugar cane. X'arious industries: flouring mills, 
cotton and oil mills, cotton gins, compresses, can- 
ning factories, stone quarries and brick yards. One 

109 



of the most fertile and wealthiest counties in Texas. 
Plenty of cheap lands from $3 to $20 per acre. The 
abundance of cotton and wool at Belton affords a 
fine opening there for cotton and woolen manufac- 
turing. Pleasant winter and summer climate. Never 
colder than 20° above zero in winter. 

BOSQUC County Population about 18,000; 
county seat, Meridian, 
population 1,500. Well watered by Bosque and 
Brazos Rivers, Steel's, Spring and Meridian Creeks. 
Artesian water easily obtained anywhere from 500 
to 900 feet. Fuel and fence posts can be had from 
the timbered land. Soil is a black-waxy quality, 
except on the rivers where it is sandy. Principal 
crops are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, mil- 
let and sorghum; also all kinds "of fruits are raised. 
The residents are a prosperous class of people. 
Hot summers, but always a cool breeze; mild win- 
ters, very little snow and ice. Land is cheap. 

Bl*OWn County population 17,000; county 
seat, Brownwood, popula- 
tion 5,200. Watered by Colorado River, Pecan, 
Bayou, Jim and Ned Creeks. Land well timbered. 
Area of county, i,ioo square miles. Two hundred 
thousand acres under cultivation. Soil, a chocolate 
loam. Crops consist of cotton, corn, wheat, oats, 
sorghum, millet, fruits and vegetables. Farmers 
and merchants are prosperous. Very temperate 
climate all the year round. Rich, productive lands 
at $4 to $6 per acre on easy terms. 

Burleson County Population 15,000: 

county seat, Caldwell, 
population 1,500. Land is watered by Brazos and 
Yegua Rivers and Second Creek. Plenty of timber. 
Area of the county, 1,000 square miles, about one- 
third under cultivation. Soil, sandy black. Prin- 
cipal crop is coAon. Summers hot, winters cool and 
damp. 

Coleman County Population 7,000; 

county seat, Coleman, 
population 2,800. Well watered by Colorado River, 
Center, Hords, Jim, Ned, North, Pecan and Bayou 
Creeks. Plenty of timber for fuel, also large coal 
deposits in southern part of county. Area of Cole- 
man County, 1,290 square miles; one-sixteenth of it 

110 



undtr cultivation. Black prairie land; sandy soil in 
parts of the county. Principal crops: cotton, wheat, 
oats and all small grains. Cattle, horses and mules 
are raised in large numbers. Gulf breeze makes the 
summers cool, while winters are delightful. Climate 
cannot be excelled for healthfulness. Lands are 
cheap; county is being rapidly settled. Schools and 
churches located in every part. 

CoUin County I'op^i^tion about 35,000; 

^ county seat, McKinney, 
population 6,000. Land watered by numerous creeks. 
Large quantities of Osage orange, oak and hemlock 
timber. Area of county, 30 square miles, four-tifths 
under cultivation. Black-wa.xy soil. Crops consist 
of corn, cotton, wheat and oats; stock-raising is 
also followed. Principal industries are cotton and 
oil mills. County thickly settled by thrifty, law- 
abiding, prosperous farmers. Churches and school- 
houses in every community. Land in cultivation 
sells from $20 to $30 per acre. Summers are warm, 
average temperature 96°; winters mild and pleasant, 
seldom any snow or ice. 

Cook County Population 40,000 ; county 

^ seat, Gainesville, population 
11,500. Watered by Red River, Trinity and Clear 
Creeks, and other streams. One-half the county is 
timbered land. Area, 933 square miles. Soil is 
black-waxy, sandy and red sandy. Principal crops: 
corn, wheat and cotton. The citizens are prosper- 
ous. Gainesville, the county seat, situated on the 
Trinity River, is a busy city; has eleven churches, 
six brick school houses, two flouring mills, an ice 
factory, an iron foundry, a cotton compress, a broom 
factory, soap factory, cotton seed oil mills, pressed 
brick works, four newspapers, three banks. The 
Santa Fe Railway shops are located here. 

DilUilS County I'^op^lation 90,000 ; county 
seat, Dallas, population 
64,224. Well watered by Trinity River and three 
tributaries, also small creeks. Plenty of timber, 
building stone and fire and pottery clay. Area of 
county, 900 square miles. About 165,000 acres under 
cultivation, or seventy per cent, of tillable land. Soil 
of all varieties from sandy to heavy black-waxy. Prin- 
cipal crops: cotton, corn, wheat and oats. Market- 
ill 



gardening and fruit-raising have developed to great 
extent; also profitable dairy and stock industries. 
Dallas is largest manufacturing city instate of Texas. 
The settlers are industrious and prosperous. Cli- 
mate mild both summer and winter. Farming lands 
for sale at moderate prices. Unusual opportunities 
for manufacturing industries. 

Delta County p^p^i^;.^^'^ ^^'5°°; ^^^.^^y 

^wv**!...^ seat, Cooper, population 
2,000. Plenty of hardwood timber. Area of county, 
290 square miles. Eight hundred small farms in 
Delta County. Soil, black and very rich, from four 
to fifteen feet deep. Crops: corn, cotton and alfalfa. 
Farmers and merchants prosperous. Winters mild, 
summers warm and dry. Land can be rented for 
from $4 to $5 per acre, and bought for from $20 to 
$30 per acre. 

Denton County !:i;::Te:X:TpnZZ 

5,000. Well watered; artesian water can be obtained 
at from 300 to 400 feet. Timber in the eastern part 
of the county. Area of Denton County, goo square 
miles; about 100 square miles under cultivation. 
Soil sandy and mixed with black land. Principal 
crops are wheat, oats, corn and cotton. Finest 
wheat belt in Texas extends from Denton west; is 
about twenty miles wide, and this year averaged be- 
tween twenty and twenty-five bushels per acre ; stock 
raising and shipping is carried on to considerable 
extent. The settlers are a thrifty, prosperous people. 
Mild summers and pleasant winters. 

I^llia r^fMittf'W Population 65,000 ; county 
Omi3 \^(^Uniy seat, Waxahachie, population 
7,000. Land watered by Trinity River and artesian 
wells. Along the streams there is timber sufficient 
for fuel. Area of county, 950 square miles, three- 
fourths under cultivation. Soil is a black-waxy 
quality. General crops: hay, corn, oats, wheat and 
cotton. Farmers are prosperous. Climate, mild. 

f'^««««««« l^/^ifM^-M Population 60,000; county 
anmn County ^^^,^ j^^^i,^,,,; population 

5,000. Watered by Red River, its tributaries and 
springs. Plenty of timber along water courses. 
Area of county, 1,089 square miles, half in cultiva- 
tion. Soil, black and waxy; along the river it is 
112 



sandy. Crops are cotton, corn, oats, hay, wheat and 
garden products of all kinds. Settlers are unusually 
prosperous. Climate is mild, averaging from 68° 
to 75°. Fannin County is noted for the quality of 
her cotton, which frequently sells for higher price 
than that of adjacent counties. 

Grimes Coimty Population 25,000; county 
seat, Anderson, popula- 
tion 500. Is watered by Brazos and Navasota Riv- 
ers and their tributaries. Timber and minerals are 
found in parts of the county. Area is 781 square 
miles, one-half being timbered and the remainder 
prairie land; 100,000 acres under cultivation. Sandy 
and black waxy soil. Principal crops: cotton, cane 
and corn. Mild climate, average summer tempera- 
ture 95°; winter 60°. Lands are cheap; a good 
county for investors and home-seekers. 

IlUtit County Population 40,000 ; county 
seat, Greenville, population 
7,500. Well watered by tanks and cisterns; abun- 
dant timber. Soil, black-v/axy and sandy. Prin- 
cipal crops: corn, cotton, grains, hay, fruits and 
vegetables. Cattle and hogs are raised. Farmers 
and merchants are prosperous. Climate mild in 
winter, and south breeze makes the summers pleas- 
ant. Plenty of good, cheap land from $10 to $30 
per acre. 

'jfobHSOtl County Population 19,000; coun- 
ty seat, Cleburne, popu- 
lation 7,500. Watered by various streams and arte- 
sian wells; abundance of timber. Area of county, 
1,600 square miles; twenty-five per cent, under cul- 
tivation. Soil, black-waxy and sandy loam. Prin- 
cipal products consist of cotton, wheat, oats, corn, 
and cattle. The settlers are prosperous. Pleasant 
climate the year round, especially in the winter. 
Land can be bought on easy terms; light taxation, 
good schools and ready market for farm products. 

I^<ITIiPil8il9 Population 7,565; county seat, 

^^ Lampasas, population 2,500. 

V^OUnty Watered by Lampasas and Colo- 

rado Rivers, numerous creeks and 
springs. Plenty of cedar and other fuel timber, also 
valuable pecan timber. Area of county, S58 square 
miles; about 50,000 acres in cultivation. A portion 



of the soil first class for farming, some is sandy and 
clay. Principal crops are cotton and grains. Indus- 
tries, wool growing and sheep and cattle raising. 
Residents a very prosperous people. Excellent 
climate the year round. Fine school facilities; good 
homes are cheap. Largest sulphur springs in the 
world are here, 

Lamar County Population 37,302; county- 
seat, Paris, population 
15,000. Watered by Red and North Sulphur Rivers, 
Pine and Saunders Creeks, and other small streams. 
Water for stock and domestic purposes easily ob- 
tained at average depth of 50 feet. Timber abun- 
dant along water courses, such as hackberry, elm, 
ash, oak and hickory, of splendid quality; also pecan 
and other varieties, including the famous bois d'arc. 
Soil mostly a rich alluvial and black-waxy land, all 
exceedingly fertile. Principal crops: cotton, wheat, 
oats, barley, rye, millet, sugar-cane, garden vegeta- 
bles, also all kinds of fruits. Stock raising is profit- 
able. Exceedingly Hne climate; the nights, visited by 
soft breezes tempered by Gulf winds, are always 
cool. Area of Lamar County is goo square miles; 
most of the land under cultivation. Excellent school 
houses and comfortable churches. 

jVlcLClinail Population 50,000; county seat, 

g-^ ^^ Waco, population 25,000. Watered 

V^OUtliy by Brazos, Bosque, Aquilla and 

other rivers, also numerous creeks 
and wells. Timber is abundant; oil is also being 
developed. Area of the county, 1,083 square miles; 
half under cultivation. Soil of river lands, sandy 
loam; prairie lands, mostly black-waxy. Principal 
crops: cotton, corn, wheat, oats and all vegetables; 
also berries and fruits of every variety. Farmers and 
merchants are generally very prosperous. Climate 
is pleasant, being tempered both winter and summer 
by Gulf breezes; average temperature for past ten 
years, 6g°. Good homes at reasonable prices. 

IVIllaiTI OOUHty population 32,000 ; county 
seat, Cameron, population 
5,000. Land watered by Little River, Brazos River, 
San Gabriel, Elm and Pond Creeks. Plenty of post 
oak timber, also fine lignite beds. Area of Milam 
County, 11,000 square miles; 75,000 acres under 
115 



cultivation. vSoil, black-waxy and gray post oak 
with clay sub-soil. Crops consist of cotton, corn 
and oats. Principal industries are oil mill, compress, 
water works, electric light ana ice plants. Both 
summer and winter pleasant and healthful. Good 
land, excellent social advantages and fine schools. 

Mills COUntV l^opulatlon 7, 500; county seat, 

•^ ^ Goldthwaite, population 

1,875. Watered by Colorado River, Pecan, Bayou, 
Bennett, Brown, Lampasas, Miller and Bull's 
Creeks. Well water can be obtained at from 25 
to 100 feet. Half the county well timbered. There 
is iron ore and traces of silver and coal. Area of 
the county, 720 square miles; about one-fifth under 
cultivation. Soil, mixed, sandy and black-waxy. 
Crops are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sorghum, millet, 
potatoes, melons and vegetables; also small fruits. 
Farmers are doing well and no financial failures 
among merchants. Climate delightful the year 
round. A great health resort. An excellent place 
for those afflicted with pulmonary troubles; no chills 
or fevers. Lands may be bought at low prices. 
Good schools and churches in every section of the 
county. 

MontCfOUlCVV Population 13,000; county 
^ seat, Conroe, population 600, 

County Watered by numerous running 

streams. Plenty of timber of 
all kinds. Deposits of iron not yet developed. Area 
of county 1,150 square miles; about one-fourth un- 
der cultivation. Soil, principally black-waxy and 
sandy. Best crops are sugar-cane, corn, cotton, 
potatoes and tobacco; also fruits. Farmers and mer- 
chants prosperous. Summer climate with average 
temperature of 75° and winter 40°. Good lands, 
exceedingly cheap, on easy terms. 

Parhcr County Population 30,000; county 
■■ * seat, Weatherlord, popu- 

lation 7,000. Well watered by running streams, 
springs and wells. Plenty of timber and coal. Area 
of Parker County is goo square miles; about 125,000 
acres under cultivation. Soil, partly sandy loam, 
black-waxy and black-waxy loam. Crops are cot- 
ton, corn, wheat, oats, hay, vegetables and fruits of 
all kinds. Climate mild in summer (Gulf breeze), 
varial)le in winter. 



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Runmtd County population 4,000; county 

' seat, Ballinger, popula- 
tion 1,800. Watered by Colorado River and several 
creeks. Some timber and building stone. Area of 
county is 900 square miles; about one-fifth under cul- 
tivation. Soil, a sandy loam. Principal crops are 
melons, corn, wheat, oats and cotton, Stock-raising 
is the leading industry. Climate warm in summer 
with pleasant breeze; winters agreeable. 

Carrant County Population 60,000; coun- 

^ tyseat, Ft. Worth, popu- 
lation 25,000. Watered by Trinity River and 
branches; also creeks. About one-fourth of the 
county well timbered; half under cultivation; one- 
fourth grazing land. Soil, sandy and black-waxy 
land. Principal crops: corn, wheat, oats, cotton and 
all kinds of vegetables and fruits; also pecans. 
Delightful breezes in summer; winters warm and 
considerable rain. Good schools and churches. 
Population is progressive and liberal. Good op- 
portunities to make money by stock-raising. 

Com (3l*CCn Population 7,500; county seat, 
San Angelo, population 4,000. 

County Watered by Concho River and 

Spring and Dove Creeks; some 
timber. Area, 1,800 square miles. Soil, a sandy 
loam. Principal crops: cotton, milo, maize and sor- 
ghum; also hay. Warm, dry summers; winters dry 
and very little freezing weather. Farmers are pros- 
perous. A good country for stock farmers and farm- 
ing by irrigation. 

OlashtnOftOn Population 30,000; county seat, 
^^^^"*"<5''^"Brenham, population 8,000. 
COUntV Watered by Brazos River and 

Yegua, Jackson, New Years 
and IsVxW Creeks. One-third timber land, some min- 
erals. Area of county, 600 square miles; 75 per 
cent, under cultivation. Soil very rich, black-wa.xy, 
black, sandy and loam. Crops, cotton and corn. 
Manufacturing is the principal industry. Climate, 
mild; average temperature in summer 80°, in winter 
38°. A total failure of crops is unknown. 



Index 



•• 



La Porte 

Manvel 

Meadowbrook 

Pearland . 

Richmond 

Rosenberg' 

Sealy . 

Superior 

Wallis 

Webster 

Wharton 



Somewhat Personal , 
Facts About Texas , 
The Coast Country , 
Gulf Coast Climate . 
Towns and Colonies: 

Algoa . 

Alta Loma 

Alvin . 

Amsterdam 

Arcadia 

Areola . 

Edna . 

El Campo 

Fairbanks 

Galveston 

Hitchcock 

Houston 

Mennonite Colonies .... 
Testimony of Farmers . 

Pear Orchards 

There's Money in Strawberries 
Miscellaneous Products . 
A Review and Outlook , 
Crops That Yield Money Quickly 
The Diversified Interests of Texas 
Successful Tobacco Culture 
Texas as a Tobacco-Growing State 
Secretary Wilson's Views 
Real Estate Agents' Opinions 
What One Man Has Done . 
Other Texas Counties . 
Map of Texas Coast Country 
Map of Santa Fe Route 
Map of G. C. & S. F. Ry. . 



119 



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BETWEEN 

CHICAGO. ST. LOUIS 
AND TEXAS. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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Route 



